


Westeros One Shots

by LyrebirdSong



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Experimental Style, F/M, Folk Music, Shapeshifting, Singing, Texting, Wrong number
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-29
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2018-09-13 01:01:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9098932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LyrebirdSong/pseuds/LyrebirdSong
Summary: Romance, slice-of-life, fairytale and more!Chapter 1: The Spider - a story of wrong numbersChapter 2: WolfSong -  a fairytaleChapter 3: Stronger - a story of personal growthChapter 4: Planning - a story of stress and familyChapter 5: The Spider Part 2 - a sequel to a story of wrong numbersChapter 6: Hunter and the Field - a story of ritual and passion (Rated Explicit)These one-shots are a space where I can try out different styles and exercise those creative muscles.I thrive on feedback and don't expect all of these to work but I would love to hear your thoughts, stuff you thought worked well and the things that made you make confused noises.Tags will be added as chapters get added.





	1. The Spider (Sandor and Sansa)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sansa needs to borrow some of her sister's bravery but gets a hold of someone else.
> 
> Challenge: tell a story using only dialogue

_Arya, mum gave me your new number – this is mine!_

_Also, finally finished unpacking so you should come down to KL when you get a chance – I can get you a discount at SnakeAlley._

_I know you’re not into fashion, but its not my style – its totally yours_

_You’ll love it!_

_Arya, just tried calling you and it went straight to voicemail. Call me._

_Call me arya when you get this message._

_Arya, I really need you! Please call back._

_Seriously – I am freaking out – call me._

_Arya! There is a godsdamned spider in my room and its huge, help me._

_I think it’s a bitey spider._

_Arya! Its moved between me and the door and now I can’t leave my room._

_Please_

_Arya_

_Arya_

_Arya_

_Arya_

_ARYA_ _  
_

_ARYA  
_

_AYRA  
_

**I turn my phone on after work and I have 6 missed calls and 20 messages.**

**Spider still there?**

_YES it’s still there! I can’t leave my room._

_Its between me and the door._

_I tried to go around it but it turned around to face me._

_It's watching me_

_Arya, It's watching me._

**Okay, calm down. You have packing boxes.**

**So kill the fucker.**

_I can’t kill it!_

_It’s not its fault that I have a totally justifiably fear of it._

**Just squash it with a box, put it out of its misery.**

_No!_

_What it has a wife and little baby spiders._

**Wtf**

_Also, the boxes aren’t in my room._

_Why did you have to stay in the North. You should be here wth me, doing that glass thing._

_But it won’t fit in the glass._

**Glass thing?**

_You know, you trap it in a glass and slide a piece of paper under it and let it go outside._

**Why don’t you do that.**

_Because it’ll move!_

_And bite me!_

_And I think its too big to fit in one of my glasses._

_Also, I don’t have a glass in my room._

_Or a paper._

**Or any sense**

_HEY! Its not funny to mock me in my time of need._

**Okay here’s what you’re going to do.**

**You have shoes?**

_Of course_

**Shoe box?**

_Yes_

**Take the lid off a shoebox.**

**And split the corners so its flat.**

**You there?**

_Yes, sorry._

**Okay, got the lid done?**

_Just a mintue._

_Minute_

_Done_

**Good. Now take the shoes out of the box.**

_K_

**And do the glass thing with the shoe box.**

_What if it hurts me._

**It won’t if you drop the box from above.**

_Ah! I get it._

_You’re so smrt_

_Smat_

_SMART_

_Okay_

_I can do this._

**So do it.**

_Don’t rush me._

_DID IT._

**Great!**

_The box is over the spider._

_Can I just leave it there._

**What**

**No**

**_Slide the fucking lid under the box already_ **

_Ok ok!_

_Jeeze_

**You done yet?**

**Hey**

**You there?**

_I did it!_

**Is the spider still in your place?**

_Nope! Its in the bush out the front of the building!_

_I am dancing around right now!_

_Thanks for the help!_

**Any time**

_So are you gonna come stay with me for a while?_

_Arya?_

_You there??_

**Not Arya**

**Your mum gave you the wrong number.**

_Not funny_

**It’s really not**

_You’re serious?_

**As a punch in the balls**

_Omg_

_I’m so sorry_

_Likr, so sorry_

**What for?**

_Wasting your evening?_

**It was nothing**

**Just sitting here having a beer after work**

_Well… thanks for your help_

**It was all you little bird.**

_Little bird?!_

_What?!_

_I could be a cage fighter for all you know_

**What?! Cage fighter, no**

**Just, no**

**Lol**

**What?!**

**Don’t you work in a girly store?**

_Its not girly! Its like goth or alternative_

_I had to watch a tonne of youtube videos on how to do my hair and makeup_

_Just for the interview_

**You just proved my point little bird**

_You can’t see me_

_But I am making angry faces_

**And I am making amused faces**

_Ugh._

_Whatevs_

**Whatevs?**

**Are you in high school?**

**Should you be living in KL now?**

**It’s no place for little girls?**

_What?! I’m 22!_

_And just cos I am not like an old man or something._

_Doesn’t mean I can’t live here._

_Also, my grad school is here._

_Old man._

**You can’t goad me little bird.**

**I am made of stronger stuff**

_Fine,_

_What do I call you_

_If not old man_

**What?**

_I can’t have you in my phone as Arya_

**Just call me Hound.**

_Hound?_

**Yeah, Hound.**

_What a pair. The hound and the little bird._

_Sounds like a disney movie :D_

_Hey hound?_

**Yeah?** **  
**

_thanks for the helping me with the spider._

**Anytime**

_Night, Hound_

**Night Little bird**


	2. WolfSong (Sansa and Sandor)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two travelers enter the forest and one filfils the desire of another.
> 
> Challenge: fairytale-ish, fantasy-ish. Something that could legitimately be a word of mouth tale in a village somewhere.

This is the story of the scarred man, the pretty man and the aves-wolf.

 

It was to be one of those peculiar nights where the barriers between the unknowable realms of the gods and those of men were but a mere veil, shrouding travelers with unease and causing horses and man alike to shift about with agitation. Some attempt the distraction of song around a campfire but all peer anxiously into the blackness just beyond the safety of the light from the fire.

 

The travelers were urged by the smallfolk to remain in the last village before the Wolfswood until morning.

‘Naught but ill-tidings can come about on a night like tonight, sers,’ the travelers heard, ‘The aves-wolf will be prowling tonight, and it is a demanding creature.’

While the pretty man scoffed, and tossed his blonde head in irritation, the scarred man gripped his reins and asked after the beast.

‘They say the wolf is lone and it wants other who are worthy to join with in pack. It slaughters those who fail to meet its standards.’ The scarred man and pretty man exchanged glances. ‘They say that none who have met the wolf have survived the encounter,’ the villager continued.

‘What nonsense,’ sneered the pretty man, ‘if no one has ever survived then how did the story get out, hmm?’

‘As you say milord, but there _is_ danger there – it’s not called wolfswood for nothing. A few years back a band of sellswords set off at night and never returned. A few of us found their butchered bodies strewn about a clearing – weren’t any sign of no packs nearby.’

A mournful wail of a wolf split through the darkening sky. The pretty man grinned when he heard that no others joined in packsong.

‘Sounds like there’s one wolf out there tonight – and if it thinks that it can take me down its got another thing coming.’

He drew his sword with a flourish, waving it around in the air causing the scarred man’s warhorse to dance away.

‘Perhaps I can skin it and give its pelt to my lady bride as a wedding present? What say you, dog?’ The pretty man glanced over the scarred one expectantly.

‘Whatever you wish, my lord.’

‘I do wish, dog.’ The pretty man spat before mounting his horse. ‘Come on then, I want to reach my lady bride before noon.’

The scarred man took the supplies and packed them away before joining the pretty one.

 

They rode in silence through the forest on a road barely wide enough for wheelhouse. The pretty man twitched and glanced into the forest as the snaps and cracks of woodland creatures filtered through the trees to the travelers. The scarred man’s vigilance was clear in his baring, though he lacked the restless unease of his companion.

As the sickly yellow moon continued its passage across the sky the scarred man finally called a halt and told his companion that they would make camp before their horses became lame in the growing darkness.

Making camp was easy enough, for the scarred man and pretty man knew their duties. Neither getting in the way of the other as bedrolls were laid out and a ring of stones placed for a fire. The scarred man tended the horses and found a place near water for them while the pretty man found dried moss and twigs and branches to bring about a source of warmth for their chilly resting place.

They sat together gnawing on dried mutton and taking sips from the skins of wine before the pretty man broke the silence.

‘Do you think she’s as pretty as the portrait they sent?’

The scarred man didn’t know and said so.

‘My uncle’s bride had pretty portrait but when she arrived to be wed she had a face like a horse. I laughed and laughed at his solemn face as he placed his cloak around her shoulders.’

The scarred man grunted in response and wished – not for the first time – that the pretty man hadn’t decided to ride ahead of the company of knights in his impatience to see his bride in the flesh.

A stumbling and crashing in the woods surrounding their campsite brought both men to their feet. They gripped their swords and adjusted their stance, waiting for the beast in the brush to enter their small camp.

‘Maybe this will be my lady’s gift?’ the pretty man japed.

To their surprise it was not a lone wolf or, indeed, a beast of any kind.

It was a maiden.

‘Please, you must help me,’ she exclaimed before coming to a wary stop in front of the two men who stood before her with swords at the ready.

‘I… I…’ she stuttered, eyes wide and becoming bright with tears, ‘Please, I will not hurt you or steal from you. My companion and horse disappeared when we stopped to relieve ourselves…’ The scarred man could see her blush hotly, ‘I’ve not an eye for tracking and could not tell where they’d gone. I’ve been wandering for hours, hoping to find someone but… I…’ she sniffed and then shivered.

Both men came to realize that standing between her and the fire had left them both in shadow and gingerly lowered their weapons. To her they must look like shadowed villains, the scarred man thought wryly.

‘Come, my lady, we can’t have you out in the cold,’ the pretty man could be gallant when the mood took him, ‘Why don’t you join us by our fire?’

He smirked over her head at the scarred man who turned to get something from his horse.

‘You have my thanks,’ the girl murmured before holding her hands out in front of the fire, her eyes staring into the flames. The pretty man sat down on his bedroll leaning back on his hands as he studied her form. Both men could see that the girl was a bit older than she first appeared, not far into womanhood. Her figure was light and pleasing and her features were fine. The pretty man’s own features were pulled into a contemplative frown.

The girl jumped when the scarred man spoke. His gravelly voice surprising her out of her thoughts.

‘Here, Little Bird,’ he said, ‘Take my cloak to keep you warm.’ The scarred man handed her his crimson cloak while wrapping a saddle blanket around his shoulders.

‘Oh no, ser, I couldn’t deprive of your cloak.’ The man’s lips tugged at his scars as he fought a smile – the girl had said this while bringing her hand up to hold the cloak tight about her throat. He felt a warmth surge through him at the thought that his cloak would keep her warm during the chilly night.

‘Not a ser,’ he replied gruffly.

‘As you say,’ she replied softly, staring him straight in his eyes.

The scarred man’s eyes widened. Her bold look belied her shy and unassuming behavior from earlier. He found that he could not remove his gaze from her. A man can easily drown in the eyes of a beautiful woman, and the scarred man realized that he would not mind death by drowning, so long as it her eyes were the last things that he would see. The voice of old disappointments scoffed in the back of his mind but he resolutely ignored it.

She gave a shy smile and like that the spell was broken. The scarred man glanced over at the pretty man who was not quick enough at disguising his contempt with indifference.

‘Do you sing, my lady?’ The pretty man called.

‘Uhm, I can, ser,’ the girl replied hesitantly. She turned to look to the pretty man – blue eyes huge in her pale face. ‘But, most find my song… disconcerting.’

She looked ashamed and the scarred man hoped that pretty one wouldn’t press her. He sank heavily to the ground and studied his hands in front of the fire.

‘Oh, well, maybe you can tell me something of the people this far North,’ the pretty man suggested.

‘What would you like to know, ser?’

‘I am to be married to the sister of the self-styled King of the North. Perhaps you can tell me what you know of them.’ The pretty man shuffled a little closer to the maiden.

‘The Starks have held the seat of Winterfell since the time of the First Men. I believe the whole family, bar their mother, follow the old gods.’

The pretty man tucked himself closer to the maiden whose eyes had lowered to the ground.

‘Come now, I have heard this all before from my advisers,’ the pretty man stared hard at the girl, ‘You must know something about the lady I am to marry that these Northern savages wouldn’t want known.’

The girl shifted uncomfortably under the pretty man’s gaze.

‘Lady Arya is beloved of the people, ser,’ the girl took in a deep breath, ‘I cannot really speak to her qualities as a wife – but she has endeared herself to the smallfolk…’ her voice trailed off when the pretty man rolled his eyes at her mention of the smallfolk.

‘I know, Dog!’ He addressed the scarred man, ‘Go to my horse and collect another skin of wine. Our guest will be quite safe here with me.’ The pretty man smirked.

The scarred man took to his feet and glanced at the shy girl by the fire. She was holding herself stiffly and shuddered under the pretty man’s scrutiny.

‘Here, my lady, let me help you with my dog’s cloak. You are obviously still cold.’

‘Please don’t trouble yourself, ser.’

‘Nonsense…’

The voices faded a bit as the scarred man approached the horses and dug around in the packs for a skin of wine.

By the time he returned the pretty man was staring intensely into the girl’s face. Her back was rigidly straight and she was leaning slightly away from the other man. The scarred man dropped the skin in front of the pretty man – snapping the man’s attention away from the girl.

‘You have some too, little bird,’ the scarred man said, ‘It’ll keep you warm.’

‘She didn’t ask _you_ , dog,’ the pretty man said after taking a deep swallow from the skin before climbing clumsily to his feet and stumbling towards a copse of trees.

‘Don’t drink all my wine while I’m gone _relieving_ myself’ he called over his shoulder.

The scarred man took a seat by the fire.

‘Why do you let him speak to you like that?’

The scarred man levelled a look at her.

‘A dog takes orders from his master.’

She furrowed her brow before peeking at him from under her lashes.

‘But… you are no dog,’ she said, ‘You are a man.’

‘Aye,’ he replied, staring into the fire, ‘That I am.’

‘You can’t _just_ have a master…’ she frowned over the word, ‘Don’t you have your own wishes?’

‘What, like _you_?’ he glanced sharply at her, ‘You have your own masters, granted he’s not a little shit like mine,’ she stifled a giggle. ‘No, yours are your master is your little pleasantries now and later it will be a little lord– if your highborn accent is real and not a mummers farce.’

‘You’re wrong,’ she replied with a level stare, ‘I am my own master. I choose the pleasantries because they make my life easier.’

The scarred man looked at her in disbelief.

‘But I am ruled by something, I suppose…’ she continued, ‘I have my own dear dreams that make my heart ache with longing.’

She tilted her head back and stared at the starry sky with a sigh. Her lovely white throat standing in stark contrast to the red of her hair and his cloak.

‘Don’t you wish…’ She trailed off.

‘What?’ The scarred man wanted to know what she would say.

‘That you could belong somewhere?’ she looked back at him, her eyes wet with unshed tears, ‘Dogs and wolves are supposed to have packs, sheep and cattle and horses have herds. Gods’ she sniffed, ‘even little birds are supposed to have a flock.’

She gave a watery smile and looked at him in the eyes – as before.

The scarred man thought of the lonely wolfsong from earlier.

‘Aye,’ he found himself saying, ‘more than anything, little bird.’

Her smile wavered as pain crossed his features.

‘But anything that belongs to me gets fucked to pieces.’ Her eyes widened at his crude words, ‘So I don’t bother with wishing for things that I can never have.’

He broke eye contact and took a swig from the skin.

‘So you can keep chirping your pleasantries, Little Bird, and I’ll keep drowning in Dornish Red.’

He took another swig from the skin.

‘Drowning in red…’ she repeated softly to herself.

The pretty man returned and demanded a story.

The girl shared her Northern tales and the pretty man chose to be charming and shared the ones that he knew from the Stormlands. Even the scarred man shared a tale from the Westerlands. The wine skin got lighter and lighter.

 

Gradually, as the night grew older and the travelers grew more tired, the scarred man lay back and stared into the sky, making patterns in the stars and testing his knowledge of the constellations. He tuned out the voice of the pretty man.

There was a gust of wind and panicked whinny from the horses.

The scarred man sat up with a groan and looked over at the Little Bird and the pretty man. He was leaning in to her had one hand cupped against her cheek and another on her knee.

‘Please don’t…’ She was saying.

The scarred stood up and made some noise. The pretty man pulled away from the girl and looked up at the other man.

‘What?’ he snapped.

‘The horses-’ his sentence was cut off by another panicked horse sound.

‘Well, what are you waiting for?!’ the pretty man sneered, ‘Go check on them, Dog! I’ll take good care of our guest.’

The girl nodded, and timidly added, ‘I’ll be safe.’

‘Are you sure,’ the scarred man asked, looking into the eyes of the girl.

‘Yes,’ she replied. Her voice was soft but her eyes held a glimpse of steel that he had not seen before.

‘See?’ the pretty man admonished.

The scarred man hesitated.

Go, she mouthed at him shooting a glance at the pretty man who was becoming visibly frustrated.

‘I’ll be back, soon.’ He said as he turned to stride to the place near a stream that the horses were tethered. Just before he rounded a copse of trees he heard a low, murmured ‘I find you lacking,’ and an indignant gasp.

He reached the horses, who were in a remarkably placid state, and looked around in confusion as to what could have caused their panic from earlier. Neither horse showed even the slightest bit of nervousness and the scarred man was troubled.

A terrified scream sliced through the peace of the night before it was abruptly cut off.

The scarred man turned and ran as fast as he could towards the camp before falling, his foot caught beneath an exposed root. His head smacked against a log and he was briefly overwhelmed by a feeling of nausea before he gathered himself and pushed himself up to his knees, wiping away the blood that was pouring into his eyes.

The scarred man looked into the clearing and gagged, eyes wide as he took in the the place where they’d made their camp. A huge wolf stood in the center, head bowed over a prone figure. Blood covered the beast head and chest and the scarred man could see wet limbs strewn about the clearing. He choked a little when he heard the sickening crack of another limb being severed from its body.

His vision began to blur and he wiped again at the blood pouring from the wound on his head.

‘Little Bird?’ he called, heedless of the danger in front of him

‘Please be safe…’he whispered as light flared at the edges of his vision and he collapsed once more.

 

He awoke to a soft, wet hand caressing his the unscarred side of his face. He startled, remembering what had happened and tried to get up.

‘Shhhh… You are perfectly safe.’

At the sound of his Little Bird’s voice he calmed and tried opening his eyes.

Red hair and blue eyes filled his vision.

‘H-how…’

‘It’s okay, I found him lacking – but I think you…’ her voice trailed off as her eyes bore into his.

‘You have such anger in you,’ she paused, contemplating something, ‘Life has been cruel to you, but you have your own honor. And from your code you’ve never strayed.’

She helped him sit up and he realized that he was on his bedroll by the camp fire. In a clearing, filled with blood and gore. The red on her face and arms was blood, he realized.

‘Blood…’ He reached out hesitantly and put his hand against her red cheek, marveling at the way she unconsciously leaned into his touch. ‘The wolf…’

She smiled softly.

‘My song has been so lonely…’

‘Why me?’

‘We complement each other, I think.’

He gave a wry smile, ‘I am ugly and scarred, and you are pure and… and… the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.’

‘Oh no, my love,’ her hand cupped the scarred side of his face. A mirror of the way he held hers. ‘Not all monsters appear so, one must see into a man’s soul to gain his full measure. Your companion, I found him lacking.’

‘You said that before.’

‘Yes. You have been in captivity too long,’ she leaned forward on her hands and knees, bringing her face closer to his, ‘Will you accept the freedom I offer?’ Her lips were so close to his, he could feel her breath flutter over his skin. ‘Will you join your song with mine? It is less lonely as a duet.’

‘Aye, Little Bird,’ he closed the gap and pressed his lips against hers.

 

As the years passed and the villagers continued to give their warnings against entering the Wolfswood on nights when the veil between the realms of the gods and those of men was at its thinnest. On nights, such as those, the villagers listened for the packsong – and felt an odd sense of peace when the lonely song became a duet and then joy, as the hesitant voices of pups joined the chorus.


	3. Stronger (Sansa and Sandor)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sandor becomes enamored with a folk singer at the bar he frequents.
> 
> Challenge: I don't even remember what it was at the beginning, but this was so hard to finish for some reason, it became an exercise in perseverance.

The first time he saw her he dismissed her entirely.

Two pretty folk singers – one with a guitar and kissed by fire. One with an absurd variety of percussion instruments and a cheeky smile. Both singers, alternating the main vocals and allowing their voices to intertwine into a perfect weaving of aural delight.

They sang songs of love, and journeying, and dreaming. The soldiers and vets indulging in a few pints and conversation allowed the whimsical songs to provide a break from their demons and painful memories.

They sang songs of achieving dreams and overcoming one’s troubles. The audience wished that it could be so easy – but allowed themselves to dream a little before they left to go home to empty apartments or lovers who couldn’t understand.

As the duo sang a pretty tune placing them in the role of various famous women from history and the audience into the role of their lovers, he saw the men in the audience allow a little hope into their hearts.

Sandor snorted and turned back to his pint, letting the music wash over him.

 

The first time he _really_ looked at her was at the end of their set. The brunette was whispering with the redhead who frowned and then gave a slight smile as the crowd cheered – their calls for an encore had been answered by the saucy grin on the brunette’s face.

‘We do have one song we’ve been working on, what do you say Sansa?’

‘Oh, Margaery, they don’t want to hear that.’

The crowd called out encouragement.

‘Well if you insist…’ The redhead started plucking a melody on the strings of her guitar.

Margaery began to banter with the crowd.

‘Now, I’d like to dedicate this song to a man.’

The crowd booed and Sandor frowned – were these girls trying to start a riot?

‘Now, now, don’t be like that,’ the brunette shook her finger at the audience, ‘This was the man who brought Sansa and I together -’

The crowd cheered.

‘-when his girlfriend,’ Margaery curtsied, ‘was introduced to…’ she paused for effect ‘his fiancée’.

The crowd cried and hollered when Sansa bowed her head in recognition.

And when they sang a song about liars with some delightful allusions to the size of the man’s assets and his attempts at being amorous (that made the audience both cringe and roar with laughter), Sandor wondered what kind of person could agree to tie themselves to someone who was so clearly abhorrent.

 

The first time he felt more than disdain for her was when he realized that the songbirds took the lead in the songs that the other had written. That Red lead the journeying and new experiences and the Saucy one sang the songs of yearning for dreams and finding home. They shared the songs of sweet love and burning passion.

He realized it when Red’s serene façade cracked during their rendition of a song about offering protection to a warrior.

At first, he thought the song was about a fantasy lover, then he realized that the adjectives describing the unknown warrior were too feminine, too full of fondness and melancholy to not be for a real person.

Sister, mother or friend?

He didn’t miss the grateful look Red shot towards her partner when it was announced that ‘Queen of Love and Beauty’ would be their next song.

The warrior song had affected the little bird.

And her friend had offered her reprieve by starting a song that was so full of fluff that half the audience took the chance to get another ale or use the restroom.

And Sandor began to wonder what other little surprises the redhead had.

 

The first time he spoke to her was actually not in the bar at all. He found her in the grocery store of all places. He helped her get something down off the high shelf and made a poor jape that he fretted about for days after. She thanked him sweetly and fixed her eyes on the good side of his face before awkwardly thanking him again and walked away, shopping basket braced against her hip, long hair falling over a shoulder.

They spoke again at the bar later that week. She and Margaery had just finished their first set with a fun song that imagined what the neighbors were doing to make _all that noise_. As the protagonist came up with more and more fanciful reasons for noise the two singers used movement to exaggerate the scenarios. Each verse got more and more fantastical and the rhythm more frenetic until the song ended abruptly with a _thump thump thump_ and a _Be quiet down there!_ Presumably from the neighbors upstairs.

It was the perfect place for a break. He left the bar through the emergency exit with the broken alarm to have a quiet smoke in the alley behind the bar. He lit up and took a drag, relishing the burn in his lungs before blowing the smoke up into the air.

“Do you have to do that here?” came a voice from the side.

He blew a cloud of smoke away from the voice before taking a proper look at the speaker.

“I come out here for fresh air,” she continued, “you soldiers are always smoking.’

He held in a smile as she wrinkled her nose.

He took in a long drag, holding the smoke in before dropping the cigarette to the ground and grinding it into the ground with his heel and exhaling away from her.

“I needed some space,” he finally replied.

She gave a small nod and looked at the sky, the moon hidden behind a blanket of clouds.

They were silent a while before he asked the question he had been wondering a while.

“The warrior in _Lost Soldier_ ,” her head remained facing the sky but he could see the slight twitch of her lips, “who is she to you?”

There was only the noise of the bar leaking through the crack in the door. He thought she may not answer.

“Not many get that that song is about a woman." She began before letting the still air surround them again.

"My younger sister,” she finally said, “I don’t know how to help her. I want to, but she prefers my brothers for that. She and I… We love each other but can’t stand each other.”

She checked her watch and stretched before heading over to the door and pulling it open, maneuvering the brick that kept it cracked open away with her foot.

“You going in for the second set?”

This time she looked at him in the eyes, the light spilling out from the bar illuminating his scars and keeping the other side of his face in shadow.

“Yeah,” he replied, watching her face carefully, “not for you mind, I need another drink.” His heart skipped a beat when her lips quirked into a smile and she laughed up at him.

“Of course,” she huffed a laugh through her nose, “I can’t think of any other reason.”

And he watched her as she joined the brunette on stage. This song was about travelling the seven kingdoms, looking for the answer to an unknown question, only to realize that the answer was with the boy who waited patiently for her at home.

He thought she was angelic.

 

The first time he kissed her was back in the alley. They had been meeting for months in the half hour between sets. She would take a glass of ice water and he would take his cigarettes only to just play with his matchbook, not lighting any.

They shared stories, nothing too deep, just enough to get a sense of each other’s character.

It didn’t take long to determine that she was a dreamer. It took longer for him to allow himself the luxury of fantasizing about sweeping her up into his own dreams. He tried not to let it show when those imaginings invaded his nights, leaving him gasping a clenching his sheets in helpless longing of an angel who could take away his nightmares and give his life purpose beyond waiting to be called back to active duty.

On this night it was busy, she had just finished her final set for the night, the bar filled with new year’s revelers. Many of the old crowd did not come to the bar on feast days due to the youthful crowd.

Sandor couldn’t even pretend to try and stay away and so he found himself in the alley further from the propped open door.

“My family follows the old traditions,” she began and he glanced at her before looking at the sky, blanketed in stars. “In the north on new year’s, a person’s first interaction of the year supposedly is an omen or…" she searched for a word, "blessing for the new year. My grandmother taught them to me and my brothers and sister when we were young. I can’t remember them all now, but usually our father or mother kissed each of us on our brow.”

It was one of her longer stories – she did this sometimes, lost herself in reverie. He found it fascinating and thought perhaps this was when she was inspired in her writing.

“Grandmother said that a parent’s blessing would help a child think more clearly about their decisions, as though guided by the old gods,” she laughed, “I used to find it so frustrating, my siblings always got into trouble but why should _I_ need that blessing, I was always a good girl and never got into trouble.”

His lips quirked a smile as he watched wisps of clouds cross the sky.

“It was only later that I realized that if a parent’s first interaction was blessing a child then they too would gain guidance, but to know when to allow their children to make their own mistakes and guide their own lives.”

He looked at his watch and saw that it was nearing midnight.

“What are the other omens,” he asked and she moved closer to him.

“Well,” she thought, “a hug from a friend will help a person find support for life’s trials.”

He was a little disappointed that she thought of him as a friend.

“And the embrace of a life partner or long-term lover enables a person to better determine how to support others.”

His breath hitched when he looked down from the stars and into her eyes, he could vaguely hear the noise inside the bar, her eyes flicked to his lips and then back up to his eyes and he fisted his hands to avoid grabbing her waist and pulling her to him.

“And a kiss, a _first_ kiss with a new lover,” she paused and he held his breath silently begging her to continue and he heard the crowd inside count down to the new year.

“A first kiss brings courage,” she breathed, “courage to chase one’s dreams.”

As the crowd cheered Happy New Year, Sandor let loose some of his control and pulled her towards him, pressing his lips against hers in a fierce kiss. As she relaxed in his arms and opened her mouth to him, he smiled a little before sweeping a tongue into her mouth and deepening the kiss.

He stiffened when she worked a hand up from where it was pressed against his chest to cup the scarred side of his face before sliding her fingers back to bury in to his hair.

He pulled back to look at her face and felt pride when she whimpered as he pulled away and saw the glazed desire in her eyes.

He didn’t even try to resist when she let out a little growl of frustration and tugged his lips back down to hers.

They left each other at Margaery's insistent calling from within the bar.

 

The first time he thought that dreams might really come true was as he watched her standing in front of him as he sat on his bed in his apartment.

She had become a little shy of him when he met her in the alley in the first break between sets after New Year's, but their stilted conversation had gradually flowed with ease again – on her part at least, he was never a good conversationalist. And when it came time for her to head back inside she pulled him down by the shirt and pressed a kiss against his surprised mouth. She pulled away and pressed a hand against his cheek and asked if he was coming in again.

He had nodded yes and she had smiled up at him before slipping away.

And now it was a month later, and their kisses had become deeper and she had allowed his hands to traverse her body and she had taken to untucking the back of his shirt and running her hands along the muscles of his back. Getting more and more heated until she finally asked how far away his place was in a breathless whisper.

So now they stood staring at each other. Him seated and her standing, looking _down_ at him for the first time before stepping forward between his legs and tugging his shirt off. She stepped back again to peruse his scarred body. The physical therapy had built back his strength but it had not removed the more visible evidence of his injuries.

And then she shook back her hair and lifted her shirt over her head and dropped it onto the floor before unzipping her skirt and letting it, too, fall, and he was in awe of her.

He couldn’t believe that he could be allowed in her presence as his eyes dropped down he marveled at the smooth skin, flawless in the moonlight that streamed in from the windows. His breath caught in his throat when she reached behind to unclasp the bra and revealed her breasts to his hungry eyes.

He could barely recall what happened next though he dearly wanted to remember it all in perfect detail - regrettably only moments were etched in his memory.

Her calloused fingertips tracing his scars as she suckled his tongue into her mouth.

Her sigh as he tracked his tongue over her collarbone.

The discomfort of being pressed painfully against the fly of his pants and the relief of being released and held within her palm.

Her breathy moans and stuttered phrases.

Her warmth yielding to his hardness.

His exquisite release after months of torture.

The draw of her eyebrows as she found her own release as he worked her with his fingers.

The sight of her stretched on his bed when he returned from tossing away the used protection.

The annoyance of waking to find her hair in his mouth and the covers slipping over her side of the bed.

The realization that he had slept the whole night without a single nightmare.

 

The first time he saw that she was not an angel was when she had woken him with her own nightmare. He held her as she sobbed into her pillow and her voice told a story of misplaced trust and dreams shattered in terrible ways. It struck him that his little bird had scars too, only hers were harder to see, and then it occured to him that her songs were a beautiful lie.

She sang about falling in love and following her dreams to fulfillment because she was afraid to do it herself. It was almost as though she was living vicariously through the music. She was trying to escape her past as much as any of the other soldiers in the bar.

She kissed him desperately and placed his hands on her breasts as she brought his body to life with hers and he kissed her back and realized briefly that the sight of tear tracks on her face as she rode him was unpleasant before becoming lost in sensation.

When she collapsed on top of him placing kisses on his neck and whispering clumsy words he finally regained coherency of thought. He wondered what other demons she might have.

Hours later she woke him from his own nightmare, and whispered words of comfort, pressing kisses onto his hair as she sang one of her songs until he fell asleep in her arms.

 

The first time he realized that loving her wasn’t enough was as he broke her heart.

It took him months to realize that they did not work well together and he continued for a while as he tried to live in denial. They both took what they thought they needed from each other. He used her apparent beauty and naivety to try and bring worth to himself, if this angel thought him worthy than who was he to say no? He didn’t like to think that she had demons and deluded himself by thinking that she was _more_ , greater than a normal human being. But the realization came crushing back as he comforted her after her nightmares.

And she used him to. He made her feel safe, she said. But she never mentioned how he gave her courage, instead he frightened the demons away.

She probably thought it was a compliment.

As he ended their relationship and accused her of using him as a distraction from her past she looked shocked but didn’t deny it.

She did try and convince him that she loved him, she listed his strengths and tested his resolve by pressing her body against his and trying desperately to kiss him.

And he pushed her away when he felt the tears against the unscarred part of his face.

“I can’t be what you want,” he told her, “I want to face your past and demons _with_ you not protect you from them. I can’t stand in the way of a woman I love. I am standing in your way.”

It was then that he realized that the tears on his face came from him.

“Sansa,” he tried, “I wanted to believe that there was someone who was unaffected by life’s shit. You want me to shield you from the pain so that you can pretend it’s not there.”

She sobbed and he tried to soften his words.

“I can’t be that Sansa," he said brokenly, "I realized that I want someone who can help me face my demons as much as I help them. I want to be stronger with my lover, do you understand?”

She nodded her head, “We don’t make each other stronger, we use each other to hide.”

“Yeah, little bird.”

And he hugged her as she cried into his chest before she pulled away.

“I think I’ll go home for a bit,” she said, and paused before adding, “I’ll miss you Sandor.”

She pressed her lips against his cheek and left him alone in his apartment.

 

The first time he thought that maybe it was going to be okay was after the frustration of twelve different bands at the bar. Months of the wrong kind of entertainment for the clientele, had caused the bars patronage to wane and the owner had taken to begging the previous entertainers to return. There was much excitement, and then disappointment when the duo returned to the bar as a trio. The appearance of Margaery’s brother with a keyboard added more layers to their music and – to the crowd’s relief - he never took lead vocals, only ever adding a richness to the harmonies.

Sansa’s dedication of a song to Loras’ boyfriend only to have Loras flush with embarrassment at one man’s enthusiastic catcall calmed the grumblings of some of the members of the audience who didn’t like the potential for a change in dynamic between the crowd and the singers. They were possessive of their escapism.

When Margaery began a song about the sudden understanding of how to escape a maze and then gaining the help of another to make greater strides towards the treasure at the center, Sandor listened more closely to the lyrics. The repetition in the chorus caught his attention and he looked at the redhead as Margaery started the bridge.

Her eyes were closed and her smile was peaceful as she strummed only accent chords to emphasize certain parts of the bridge before opening her eyes and engaging fully in the chorus.

Later, he pushed open the emergency escape and lit up a cigarette taking a drag before blowing a cloud at the moon.

“Still haven’t quit, Sandor?”

The redhead grinned at him.

“ _Make each other stronger_ , little bird?”

She flushed, “I learned some things, here andback home.”

“Is that so?” He looked her over, she had more confidence than before.

He did to, he realized.

“Yup,” she popped the ‘p’ on the end of the word.

The regarded each other silently before turning to look at the sky again. The silence broken by her soft-spoken question,

“Have a drink with me after the set?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? Questions? Comments?
> 
> This was so, so hard to finish - for some reason about half way through nothing I wrote made sense with where I wanted the story to go and I kept deleting and editing and redoing whole sections. Your thoughts are much appreciated.
> 
> Before anyone asks, none of these songs are real ones but I was listening to a lot of folksy sounding music when I started the story. Think First Aid Kit or Aurora or the Wild and Free playlist on spotify. If anyone wants to try writing any of these songs you have my blessing and encouragement, I'd love to see what someone comes up with - I am not very good at poetry or songwriting myself.


	4. Planning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sansa organises her parent's wedding anniversary party and it gets away from her a little.

  _-~-_

A Note from Sansa Stark

 

Things to do for Mum and Dad’s Anniversary

 

~~Confirm date with mum~~

~~Confirm guest list with mum~~

~~Find venue~~

~~Book venue~~

~~Decide on theme~~

~~Confirm theme with mum~~

Order stuff for room decorations

Make room decorations

Order stuff for table decorations

Make table decorations

Order flowers

~~Design and print invitations~~

Send invitations

Design and print menus

Design and print place settings

~~Encourage mum to decide between band or dj~~

~~Encourage dad to decide between band or dj~~

Decide between band or dj and then book band and/or dj

Organise menu test with mum and dad

Book caterer

Organise and book security – use venue’s preferred company

Confirm numbers with venue, caterer, security company

Book open bar with venue – tab of ~~$1000~~ , ~~$2000~~ , ~~$2500~~ , ~~$3000~~ , ~~$2000~~

Get mum and dad to decide on bar budget

Decide if event planning is really what I want to do with my life

Book photographer if budget allows

 

_-~-_

 

You are invited to celebrate

the 25th Wedding Anniversary

of

Eddard Stark and Catelyn Tully

 

Please join us for dinner and dancing at

Winterfell Events Center ‘Summer Room’

on

The 23rd day of Goose Moon

at

7:00 PM

 

RSVP: the 1st day of Goose Moon

 

-~-

 

MyDogIsAShaggyOne@thatmailplace.com _has created a groupchat_

MyDogIsAShaggyOne@thatmailplace.com _has renamed groupchat_ Bro’s of the North

 

jsnow@wallconsulting.co.ws _has been added to chat_

kingofthenorth69@nightmail.co.ws _has been added to chat_

agirlhasnoname@thatmailplace.com _has been added to chat_

thebull@thatmailplace.com _has been added to chat_

bstark@winterfellhs.edu.ws _has been added to chat_

 

_KingOfTheNorth says:_ Thanks Rickon for creating this

_MyDogIsAShaggyOne says:_ np

_Bstark says:_ did everyone get Sansa’s invitation? She said that it was just a draft but all the info is correct

_AGirlHasNoName says:_ excuse me! ‘Bro’s of the North’, Rickon!?!

_JSnow says:_ yeah, it was real fancy looking

_JSnow says:_ and you are the only sister here Arya, can’t have ‘siblings of the north’

_JSnow says:_ also, you make a better brother than Robb

_MyDogIsAShaggyOne says:_ snap!

_KingOfTheNorth says:_ oy! I’m an awesome brother!

_AGirlHasNoName says:_ haha!!

_MyDogIsAShaggyOne says:_ lol

_KingOfTheNorth says:_ Anyway, I put this group together so that we can decide what to get mum and dad this year.

_TheBull says:_ I don’t know if I should be in this group

_JSnow says:_ of course you should

_Bstark says:_ you’ll be a bro sometime soon any way

_AGirlHasNoName says:_ this is news to me

_TheBull says:_ me too Arya

_AGirlHasNoName says:_ we’ve been together for like, a year only!

_Bstark says:_ yeah but we all saw that coming for like, six

_MyDogIsAShaggyOne says:_ yup

_JSnow says:_ he’s not wrong

_KingOfTheNorth says:_ sorry Arya but they are right. Anyway, Sansa is planning the whole thing for her present and she’s tasked us to get a ‘gift from the spawn’

_JSnow says:_ she did NOT say that

_KingOfTheNorth says_ : not intentionally, but she was a little stressed at the time so, it sort of came out that way

_KingOfTheNorth says_ : she wants to give mum and dad a great event because we always ruin everything

_MyDogIsAShaggyOne says:_ truth

_JSnow says:_ right, well, everyone think of something that could be awesome for mum and dad for their anniversary.

_AGirlHasNoName says:_ Right, well, its Carp Moon, so we have about 5 moons to figure something out

_MyDogIsAShaggyOne says:_ kk ttyl

 

_-~-_

A Note from Sansa Stark

 

Three things I like about event planning

  * I can be creative
  * I get to plan expensive parties I’d never be able to pay for myself
  * I like making people are happy



Three things I don’t like about event planning

  * Clients change their minds after things are already booked
  * Vendors say they can do the thing when, in fact, they cannot do the thing (note to self: always have two backup vendors so head doesn’t explode)
  * It’s way too late to change my major



-~-

_3:32 PM – Sansa darling, I know we said we wanted a spring theme, but can we change to winter? I think it’ll fit with your father a bit better._

_3:35 PM – let me know if that will be a problem._

_3:37 PM – mama loves you xxoo_

**4:30 PM – Not a problem mum, let me put together some decoration ideas and I’ll bring them around tonight**

_4:35 PM – Thank you darling!_

_6:30 PM – I just spoke to your father and he said that he would prefer Spring because winter reminds him of death and aging_

_6:33 PM – so just go ahead with the spring invitations_

**6:45 PM – okay they are just about all sealed and addressed so I can post them tomorrow**

_6:49 – thank you, dear xxoo_

**6:50 – any time, mum. See you for dinner tomorrow**

_7:14 – Oh! Bring an invitation tomorrow for the son of one of your father’s colleagues. You remember the Karstarks don’t you?_

_7:15 – He’ll be at dinner tomorrow_

_7:17 – you won’t get married if you don’t put yourself out there, you know_

_7:20 – Sansa, I don’t want to pressure you but I’d like to see you settle down soon_

_7:21 – you’ve nearly finished college and it only gets harder to meet people_

_7:24 – think about it, love you! xxoo_

_-~-_

A Note from Sansa Stark

 

Careers other than event planning I could do:

  * Receptionist
  * Landscape designer
  * Seamstress/fashion designer
  * Graphic designer
  * Art Teacher
  * Nurse
  * Nanny
  * Maid
  * Personal shopper
  * Sales person
  * Check out operator
  * Librarian
  * Professional athlete
  * Astronaut
  * Brain surgeon
  * Aeronautical engineer
  * Dessert taster
  * One of those people that paints the lines on the road so you know where to park your car
  * Police officer
  * Body guard
  * Life guard
  * Crossing guard
  * Body painter
  * Machinist
  * Ice sculptor
  * Figure skater
  * Fisherman
  * Wood chopper
  * Lumberjack
  * Garbage collector
  * The person that puts umbrella’s in the cocktails
  * Fortune teller
  * Carnival ride operator
  * Dog walker
  * Watch fixer
  * Teddy bear repair technician
  * Antique restorreeerrr
  * Indecipherable scribbles



Note to self – do not make lists after drinking with the Alys.

_-~-_

_MyDogIsAShaggyOne says:_ how bout this?

_MyDogIsAShaggyOne says:_ [picture]

_KingOfTheNorth says_ : Agh! No!!

_MyDogIsAShaggyOne says:_ jk

_AGirlHasNoName says:_ Blech! Rickon! I need to scour my eyes!

_JSnow says:_ Oh man! Your parents using something like that! Robb, there enough whisky at your place to get rid of that mental image?

_KingOfTheNorth says_ : I don’t think the North has enough whisky to get rid of that mental image!

_Bstark says:_ how does a person even use that?

_AGirlHasNoName says:_ I don’t want to know! Gendry, I’m coming to yours, I am not a part of this family anymore

_TheBull says:_ I don’t blame you!

_-~-_

**Internal Memo**

**To: Jon Snow, Security Engineer**

**From: yfreeman@wallconsulting.co.ws**

**Subject: Patent 73856-C-82 – Name denial**

Your request to name the systems security code updates 67 through 1094 submitted for patent Doc 73856-C-82 an ‘icewall’ is denied. It is company policy that all code submitted that has a common name in consumer understanding be named as such so as to prevent misunderstandings between the company, the patent office and the consumer.

 

_This email is only intended for the person in the message header. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the message. Any disclosure, reproduction, distribution or other use of this message and/or attachments is prohibited._

-~-

A Note from Sansa Stark

 

Old timey wedding traditions:

  * Ghiscari – washing grooms feet, examining bride’s parts while nude, bound with chains of gold – too weird, mum won’t go for that
  * Dothraki – feasting, fighting and engaging in congress – NO WAY
  * Old gods – heart tree, maiden cloak exchanged for bride cloak
  * Seven gods – special words, maiden cloak and bride cloak
  * Lord of Light – special words, maiden cloak and bride cloak, jumping over fire?



 

Maybe a combination of the Old gods and the seven? Def. incl. a cloak of some kind

_-~-_

**To: Group: AllMySiblingsPlusJon**

**From: sstark17@nit.edu.ws**

**Subject: Mum and Dad’s Gift**

Hi!

I don’t know if you’ve already got mum and dad’s present yet but dad asked me to include something to the night’s program and I think that it’ll be really great if we all did something to do with that instead.

Dad wants to renew their vows because Granddad ruined their wedding when he found out that that Aunty Lyanna was pregnant with a married man’s baby and were going to run off together. And he punched some old Targaryen man in the face after Aunty’s ex-fiancé threw the cake at the wall and took off with a case of beer.

YOU AREN’T ALLOWED TO TELL ANYONE BECAUSE ITS MEANT TO BE A SURPRISE AND WE HAVE TERRIBLE LUCK WITH WEDDINGS AND WHILE THIS IS NOT A WEDDING ITS PRETTY DARN CLOSE!

Come around to my place on Saturday at 7:30 and I’ll let you know the rest of the details. I will provide the dinner if you bring yourself and drinks. Can one of you bring something other than beers? A nice red will match what I’ve planned for dinner.

All my love!

Sansa

PS – Arya, I know you are going to tell Gendry if he isn’t already reading this over your shoulder so don’t even worry about it, of course he can come

 

_-~-_

**Internal Memo**

**To: Jon Snow, Security Engineer**

**From: yfreeman@wallconsulting.co.ws**

**Subject: re: Patent 73856-C-82 – Name denial**

You know nothing about patent legalities or company policy regarding such.

Also, the code is only slightly different to a similar product that we already market, we really should be adding it in the next update rather than as a separate app. In fact, I will reach out to the product team and let them know.

Your request to name said code ‘Icewall’ is still denied.

Also ‘Icewall’ is a stupid name and not even a ‘little bit funny’.

 

_This email is only intended for the person in the message header. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the message. Any disclosure, reproduction, distribution or other use of this message and/or it’s attachments is prohibited_

_-~-_

~~Cat has been my rock for the last 25~~

~~When Catelyn Tully married me instead of my bro~~

~~Catelyn has been the long suffering wife and mot~~

~~25 years is a hell of a long time to be married to one person and I~~

 

Ask Sansa if she has any advice on writing vows

 

_-~-_

A Note from Sansa Stark

 

Things to do for Mum and Dad’s Anniversary

 

~~Confirm date with mum~~

~~Confirm guest list with mum~~

~~Find venue~~

~~Book venue~~

~~Decide on theme~~

~~Confirm theme with mum~~

~~Order stuff for room decorations~~

Make room decorations

~~Order stuff for table decorations~~

Make table decorations

Order flowers

~~Design and print invitations~~

~~Send invitations~~

Design and print menus

~~Design and print place settings~~

~~Encourage mum to decide between band or dj~~

~~Encourage dad to decide between band or dj~~

Decide between band or dj and then book band and/or dj

Organise menu test with mum and dad

Book caterer

~~Organise and book security – use venue’s preferred company~~

Confirm guest numbers with venue, caterer, security company

Book open bar with venue – tab of ~~$1000~~ , ~~$2000~~ , ~~$2500~~ , ~~$3000~~ , ~~$2000~~

Get mum and dad to decide on bar budget

Decide if event planning is really what I want to do with my life

Book photographer/videographer if budget allows

Get Dad that speech-making book seen at Winterfell’s Tomes and Scrolls misc section

Check in with brothers and Arya re: gift – show them the Pinterest board set up for ideas

_-~-_

_AGirlHasNoName says:_ can you see mum in this?

_AGirlHasNoName says:_ [link]

_MyDogIsAShaggyOne says:_ that looks sweet but this is better

_MyDogIsAShaggyOne says:_ [link]

_AGirlHasNoName says:_ or this one?

_AGirlHasNoName says:_ [link]

_MyDogIsAShaggyOne says:_ heh, this is better

_MyDogIsAShaggyOne says:_ [link]

_AGirlHasNoName says:_ Mum’s not gonna wear that!

_KingOfTheNorth says_ : Mum’s not going to wear any of those – she’s not a superhero

_MyDogIsAShaggyOne says:_ [link]

_MyDogIsAShaggyOne says:_ nsfw

_JSnow says:_ Oh man! You should have put the warning on before the link, Rickon!

_KingOfTheNorth says_ : Shouldn’t be looking at private email at your work should you jon?

_JSnow says:_ Its fine, I am on my phone, which isn’t connected to even the guest network! And it’s my lunch break.

_KingOfTheNorth says_ : there a girl watching?

_JSnow says:_ Yeah

_KingOfTheNorth says_ : a pretty one?

_JSnow says:_ …

_KingOfTheNorth says_ : Ha! Lol

_AGirlHasNoName says:_ hahaha

_MyDogIsAShaggyOne says:_ hehehehe

_TheBull says:_ haha

_JSnow says:_ You guys suck

_Bstark says:_ How bout this store?

_Bstark says:_ [link]

_Bstark says:_ if we get a request in by next Tuesday it’ll be enough time

_Bstark says:_ probably enough time

_-~-_

_6:37 – Sansa dear_

_6:37 - is tomorrow still happening?_

**6:39 – yup.**

**6:40 -The caterer has three options for each course.**

_6:42 – Only 3._

**6:43 – 3 is normal mum. I’ve already narrowed it down based on yours and dad’s tastes**

**6:44 – I know dad will want red meat and there were only two options for that**

**6:45 – You will want the fowl or fish and one was salmon**

**6:45 – which we can’t have because Arya gets sick when she sees it. I have it all under control.**

_6:47 – okay darling._

_6:50 – do you think I could bring an extra guest tomorrow?_

_6:51 – The Umber boy has grown up quite well_

**6:55 – sorry mum, no can do. The caterer has a 3 people max number for the dinner taste tests. It should be only 2 but I managed to get her to let 3 go**

_6:57 – okay sweetheart_

_6:57 – see you tomorrow_

_6:58 – all my love farts_

_6:59 – I mean farts_

_6:59 – fartsfarts_

_7:00 – Sansa, something is wrong with my phone. When I try to type farts it comes out as farts_

_7:01 – it should say farts_

_7:01 – farts_

_7:02 – fartsfarts_

_7:03 – Im going to call you_

**7:04 – no! call Bran or Rickon! They know abo (message unsent)**

_-~-_

**To: Group: AllMySiblingsPlusJon**

**From: sstark17@nit.edu.ws**

**Subject: Craft Day and Pub Trivia!**

Hi everyone!

Robb told me that all of you have been diligently looking up quality options for mum and dad’s gift. So proud of you! And I think that the final option is definitely a winner!

Come around to my place on Saturday afternoon at about noon so you can help me make the decorations for the tables. I have full instructions and completed ones done for a guide. I’ll get a design ready to go for the order and then you can send it to the lady. Her work is amazing, how did you find her?

Bran wants us all to go to trivia at Brewers too because between all of us, we have all the categories covered. So, we can have dinner at the pub after we finish at my place.

Also, if you have to bring drinks can someone bring something other than beer? Even the craftiest of craft beers from last time was not the same as a nice glass of red wine? Red Ale is not a substitute.

All my love!

Sansa

PS – Whichever one of you set mum’s phone to say farts when she types xxoo is an utter bastard and owes me big time. Have you tried telling mum how to fix something on her phone while she is talking to you on it? A nightmare!

PPS – That person had better bring a box of eclairs on Saturday!

PPPS – I will leave the room for 3 minutes when you arrive and a box of eclairs had better be on my coffee table when I return or I will lose my mind

PPPPS – When I lose my mind, know that all of you will lose your heads!

 

_-~-_

**Internal Memo**

**To: Jon Snow, Security Engineer**

**From: yfreeman@wallconsulting.co.ws**

**Subject: Stalking is a crime in all 7 Kingdoms**

Snow,

I don’t know how you found me on Saturday or why you convinced that group of morons to follow you there, but I don’t appreciate you following me around.

If this continues I will take it up with HR.

Also, it is impossible that your team could have won. _Wildlings_ always win at pub trivia. How did you manage to get that obscure pop culture reference in round 5, hmm!?!

You must’ve been cheating because you are an idiot and don’t know anything about anything.

 

_This email is only intended for the person in the message header. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the message. Any disclosure, reproduction, distribution or other use of this message and/or attachments is prohibited._

_-~-_

**Internal Memo**

**To: Jon Snow, Security Engineer**

**From: yfreeman@wallconsulting.co.ws**

**Subject: Re: Re: Stalking is a crime in all 7 Kingdoms**

Your offer of a rematch is accepted.

_Wildlings_ is looking forward to beating you and your pathetic team into the ground next Saturday.

 

_This email is only intended for the person in the message header. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the message. Any disclosure, reproduction, distribution or other use of this message and/or attachments is prohibited._

_-~-_

A Note from Sansa Stark

 

Thoughts that are keeping me awake tonight

 

  * I have soooooooo much to do for mum and dad’s anniversary and I don’t think there's enough time – this makes me too stressed to sleep
  * There are three six-packs beer in my fridge that I don’t know what to do with – this makes me slightly annoyed, why do people bring things that they don’t even finish?
  * There are enough éclairs in my fridge to last until longnight, so they will be gone by the end of the week – this makes me too sad to sleep
  * That cute boy at the pub actually texted me (!) and asked me out (!!!) – this makes me too excited to sleep – what do I wear? How should I do my hair? What will Robb and Jon think and will they try to scare him away?



_-~-_

**To: kingofthenorth69@nightmail.co.ws**

**From: sstark17@nit.edu.ws**

**Subject: Re: Help Jon get a girlfriend or at the very least get laid**

Hi Robb!

Of course! While I think your subject title is in poor taste, I would love to do what I can to help Jon lose that pent up air that he’s been carrying around! I can do Trivia again, it was fun! We can make it A Thing that we all do. I am pretty busy at the moment but can fit it in in a couple of weeks? I can’t go this Saturday, I am meeting someone for dinner but don’t worry, I know that you’ll need my encyclopedic knowledge of all things celebrity :-)

Give my best to your lady friend, what’s her name?

 

All my love!

Sansa

_-~-_

_Bstark says:_ okay, I made the order and had a skype call with the woman, she’s really excited about the project and said it would be no trouble to have it completed in time

_AGirlHasNoName says:_ great

_TheBull says:_ phew, one less thing to worry about

_AGirlHasNoName says:_ yup

_JSnow says:_ everyone still on for this weekend?

_Bstark says:_ sure

_MyDogIsAShaggyOne says:_ yup

_KingOfTheNorth says:_ I’m in but Sansa can’t make it but that’s not the important thing!

_JSnow says:_ what?! No, she needs to come! Does anyone else know about obscure celebrity relationships and romantic comedies and pop music?

_KingOfTheNorth says:_ tHAT’S NOT THE IMPORTANT THING! I THINK SHE’S SEEING SOMEONE!!@ A Male SoMEONE!

_AGirlHasNoName says:_ what?!

_Bstark says:_ what’s his name?

_JSnow says:_ How do you know she’s seeing someone

_MyDogIsAShaggyOne says:_ im checking her social media accounts for new friends and activity

_KingOfTheNorth says:_ don’t know the name but she did say that she was going to be ‘going out for dinner’ on Saturday and she didn’t say with who.

_KingOfTheNorth says:_ which is sansa-speak for its ‘not with one of my friends’

_JSnow says:_ okay, once I get a name I can do some in depth searches

_TheBull says:_ this sounds really invasive

_AGirlHasNoName says:_ shut up gendry

_Bstark says:_ shut up gendry

_JSnow says:_ shut up gendry

_MyDogIsAShaggyOne says:_ shut up gendry

_KingOfTheNorth says:_ Sansa has really, REALLY bad luck with guys – she seems to attract the worst kind of people.

_JSnow says:_ through absolutely no fault of her own

_Bstark says:_ all of her past male interests have started out being perfectly normal and then turned into weird dudes who ended up putting her in danger.

_MyDogIsAShaggyOne says:_ this is the first guy in how long?

_KingOfTheNorth says:_ 3 years?

_Bstark says:_ we don’t want her hurt again

_MyDogIsAShaggyOne says:_ remember Harry ‘the Heir’ Hardyng? He knocked up two girls in high school and said it was their own fault and they should’ve known better. Such. A. Knob.

_Bstark says:_ or Dontos, who lied about how much he’d drunk and crashed the car with her inside? She was in the hospital for 2 weeks? And then he was a prat about it.

_AGirlHasNoName says:_ The worst was Petyr who lied about his age and then became a full on stalker who stole her underwear from the campus laundry room. The restraining order is still in effect

_TheBull says:_ okay okay – what can I do

_AGirlHasNoName says:_ :)

_MyDogIsAShaggyOne says:_ based on the new friends she’s made and the comments on her pictures it looks like Joffrey Baratheon is the new manfriend. His accounts are all set to private though. Jon?

_JSnow says:_ I’ll get on it as soon as I get home – can’t have this sort of thing on a work computer

_KingOfTheNorth says:_ Also, how does Sansa always know when I’ve had a girl over? Is it like a sixth sense or something?

_-~-_

A Note from Sansa Stark

 

Things to do for Mum and Dad’s Anniversary

 

~~Confirm date with mum~~

~~Confirm guest list with mum~~

~~Find venue~~

~~Book venue~~

~~Decide on theme~~

~~Confirm theme with mum~~

~~Order stuff for room decorations~~

~~Make room decorations~~

~~Order stuff for table decorations~~

~~Make table decorations~~

~~Order flowers~~

~~Design and print invitations~~

~~Send invitations~~

~~Design and print menus~~

Design and print place settings

~~Encourage mum to decide between band or dj~~

~~Encourage dad to decide between band or dj~~

Decide between band or dj and then book band and/or dj

~~Organise menu test with mum and dad~~

~~Book caterer~~

~~Organise and book security – use venue’s preferred company~~

Confirm guest numbers with venue, caterer, security company

~~Book open bar with venue – tab of $1000, $2000, $2500, $3000, $2000~~

~~Get mum and dad to decide on bar budget~~

Decide if event planning is really what I want to do with my life

Book photographer/videographer if budget allows – It does, dad gave extra for this

~~Get Dad that speech-making book seen at Winterfell’s Tomes and Scrolls misc section~~

~~Check in with brothers and Arya re: gift – show them the Pinterest board set up for ideas~~

_-~-_

Receipt from Unbroken Flame

1x Antipasti platter

1x Grilled Fig and Prosciutto Bruschetta

1x Gambas al Ajillo

1x Chipirones a la plancha

2x Gazpacho

1x Espinacas con garbanzos

1x Carcamusa

1x Chorizo a la Sidra

1x Torrijas

1x Crema Catalana

1x Unbent Winery, Dorne, 2010

 

Semi-total - $179.65

Tip - .35

Total - $180

_-~-_

A Note from Sansa Stark

 

Thoughts about tonight 

  * Joff took me to this great Dornish tapas place and he ordered so much food, I tried everything and while some of it wasn’t really my thing I ate enough to burst
  * Joff ordered a great Dornish Red – finally someone who knows the importance of wine – won’t catch him drinking only beer!
  * Joff took care of the bill and paid for the taxi back home
  * He kissed me!!!! It was a bit… wet, but he was very polite and gallant about the whole night. I felt like a princess
  * I hope he asks me out again :)
  * I may be about to slip into a food coma



_-~-_

**Internal Memo**

**To: Jon Snow, Security Engineer**

**From: yfreeman@wallconsulting.co.ws**

**Subject: Re: Re: Stalking is a crime in all 7 Kingdoms**

I am afraid that we cannot reschedule our ‘showdown’, such a shame that your cousin can’t make it. I guess Wildlings will regain the win?

Just wait till my mixed football team meets you on Saturday – they were very unhappy that you killed our win streak.

Also, turning up at on the fifth floor lunch room when I am stuck with some of the prats in my department does nothing to endear you to me even if you did pay for my steak sandwich.

Your jokes are not really all that charming. Try harder.

 

_This email is only intended for the person in the message header. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the message. Any disclosure, reproduction, distribution or other use of this message and/or attachments is prohibited._

_-~-_

_11:55 – Hello gorgeous girl. Why do you need dad and my measurements again?_

**12:15 – It’s a surprise mum! Trust me :)**

_12:17 – okay darling, I’ll send them tonight, will I see you tonight_

**12:20 – Sorry mum, can’t, going out with the baby starks tonight.**

_12:21 – okay darling, xxoo_

_12:21 – I want to know about this boy you’ve been seeing, xxoo_

_12:24 – can you come around tomorrow for lunch?_

**1:30 – Sorry mum, I can’t make it. I am running some errands. I am seeing one of the bands, they are entertaining at a food festival tomorrow, I think they’ll be great for the party**

_1:33 – okay darling, let me know how it goes xxoo_

_1:34 – love you xxoo_

_-~-_

**To: kingofthenorth69@nightmail.co.ws**

**From: sstark17@nit.edu.ws**

**Subject: Re: Re: Help Jon get a girlfriend or at the very least get laid**

 

Robb!

I think that Jon is beyond hope. That girl from his work was 100% into him and he didn’t even see it. She actually said that she liked seeing him out of a suit, that he was ‘not so buttoned up,’ and she ‘wanted to help him unbutton some more’

Do you know what he said, Robb?

Do you know what unlucky-in-love Jon said?

He said ‘what, like joining your football team? I played goalie at school.’

Ugh. Hopeless!

I don’t know what to do now with regards to him. I fear that this quest is unachievable.

 

All my love!

Sansa

_-~-_

_TheBull says:_ okay, so I may have done something really sneaky

_AGirlHasNoName says:_ sorry Gendry, you live up to your nickname there – not sneaky at all

_TheBull says:_ well this time I was! I may have made a fake profile and friend requested him… I got my cousins, my friends and the guys from the shop to help make it seem real by friending my fake profile

_TheBull says:_ and I may have used some random girl's photos from Instagram as my profile pic

_TheBull says:_ and he may have responded to me

_TheBull says:_ here’s the link

_TheBull says:_ [link]

_JSnow says:_ I am impressed

_AGirlHasNoName says:_ wow! Gendry! This looks awesome

_Bstark says:_ I like how you’ve liked pages and have added a bunch of photos

_TheBull says:_ its weird being a girl on the internet

_MyDogIsAShaggyOne says:_ T_T

_MyDogIsAShaggyOne says:_ literally crying right now

_KingOfTheNorth says:_ How do we use this?

_JSnow says:_ we should keep talking to him – see what kind of guy he is

_TheBull says:_ k

_KingOfTheNorth says:_ keep on it. Jon you got anything

_JSnow says:_ yeah, he’s the heir to a vast fortune blah blah blah

_JSnow says:_ actually his family owns the largest private security company in the seven kingdoms – they provide body guards, event security, bank security personnel. That sort of thing.

_Jsnow says:_ his mother’s family is Lannister

_KingOfTheNorth says:_ thanks! Keep on it everyone!

_TheBull says:_ Ah guys?

_TheBull says:_  Joffrey said that he wanted to meet me for a nightcap

_TheBull says:_ He said that his current side piece ‘wasn’t putting out and he needed something to tide him over’

_KingOfTheNorth says:_ tell me he doesn’t mean Sansa.

_TheBull says:_ He just said that he really only wanted to see if the carpet matched the drapes, and then he’d drop her for me if I was any good.

_TheBull says:_ Sansa’s the only redhead in his list of friends.

_TheBull says:_ I need to go take a shower. I feel dirty.

_TheBull is now offline_

_Jsnow says:_ I’ll kill the little bastard!

_AGirlHasNoName says:_ get in line!

_-~-_

**Internal Memo**

**To: Jon Snow, Security Engineer**

**From: yfreeman@wallconsulting.co.ws**

**Subject: Re: Re: Stalking is a crime in all 7 Kingdoms**

Okay, so maybe your cousins are  a force to be reckoned with in the trivia circuit.

And I suppose you may know a little about some small insignificant things.

But, one of the Wildling’s is bringing his boyfriend’s sister so, you better watch it next time. Best of 5?

And yeah, I know _of_ the Lannister’s, never worked with them though. Why?

And court records are available online – I think it’s pacr.gov.ws – unless they were sealed for some reason. It’s a nightmare to navigate though. I deal in contracts law, not litigation or criminal stuff so I can’t really help beyond that.

Are you in trouble Jon?

I know some people who could help ;)

 

_This email is only intended for the person in the message header. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the message. Any disclosure, reproduction, distribution or other use of this message and/or attachments is prohibited._

_-~-_

A Note from Sansa Stark

 

Mysteries and curiosities and things that are worrying me right now: 

  * Joff was being a little bit weird the other night – he was a bit angry when he asked about all the men in my network and calmed down when I mentioned the brothers and cousin and stuff – he calmed down after and we went and saw a movie but it was a little weird. He apologized with a lovely pot of orchids. They are hard to look after and I don’t really have the time, but it’s the thought that count. We’ve been on a few dates and he wants me to meet his parents. I know he wants to do more, but I don’t think I’m ready. After Petyr, it’s hard to be intimate. I didn’t do anything physical with him other than kissing, but I could have. And I worry that maybe I did lead him on and the thing with the knife was partly my fault.
  * The boys are being really weird. They are all friends with a girl who was in my design minor online only her name is different in her profile. I don’t think it’s really her, but I think I should let them know. Maybe they’re being scammed!
  * Jon’s women problems are really, very tiresome. He is a grown man with a degree and steady job now that he’s not an internet activist or whatever it was that he called himself. He is a catch. But he is blind. I might tell that Ygritte girl that Jon doesn’t see subtlety and she will need to be bolder. Although, she already seems pretty bold. I hesitate to encourage her further…



 

_-~-_

_T_ **o: Group: AllMySiblingsPlusJon; thebull@thatmailplace.com**

**From: sstark17@nit.edu.ws**

**Subject: Liandry Flowers**

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to let you know that the girl you’ve all made friends with, Liandry Flowers is possibly scamming you. I don’t want to worry you but her profile picture and all her other photos were taken from my classmate Margaery Tyrell’s Instagram.

Margaery and I worked on our major design project together and I noticed that she can be really cunning, so you might want to talk to her about it. She won’t like that someone is using her image without her permission.

Just thought you should know.

All my love,

Sansa

_-~-_

_KingOfTheNorth says:_ Hey everyone! I met that Tyrell girl for coffee and explained the situation to her.

_KingOfTheNorth says:_ She actually had a fantastic plan to get back at the douchebag.

_JSnow says:_ Guys, I just found out that Joffrey and/or the Lannister’s have been taken to court six times in the past 10 years by the families of girls he’s dated.

_JSnow says:_ some of the court documents are sealed but all of the cases were either settled out of court, or dropped after the initial court date.

_JSnow says:_ I think this kid is worse than originally thought.

_AGirlHasNoName says:_ wow

_KingOfTheNorth says:_ Well, he hasn’t done anything to Sansa yet. And Margaery’s plan is really pretty good.

_MyDogIsAShaggyOne says:_ Can we film the inevitable conclusion and put it on the internet?

_Bstark says:_ If we do it right we can make him look like a total prick and everyone will know.

_-~-_

A Note from Sansa Stark

 

Good things in my life right now

  * Mum and dad love me and their party is fully booked and practically organized, I only need to get two new security guards for the event – I think I can find one with short notice
  * My brothers and sister and cousin love me and stick up for me and defend my honor from entitled douche canoes who are violent sacks of lying dung
  * Jon is in love with a girl who is not afraid to stand up for herself and will actually defend him if he needs it – he can take care of himself but I think he appreciated it. I think she’s going to be his plus one at the party
  * We don’t have to pay for the damage done by the bar in the brawl because Joffrey swung first and then all the patrons became involved
  * The evidence is on video and the video is on the internet and has already gone viral. The video wasn’t even uploaded by any of my siblings. It was another patron. And me and Margaery aren’t recognizable because our backs are to the camera
  * The doctor said that the bruises will have faded by the time the party is here if I use the bruise balm
  * The bruise balm smells like lavender and now my face smells like lavender
  * The gift from the siblings looks amazing! I can’t believe how well it turned out!
  * My family loves me



_-~-_

_5:30 – Sansa, I am just getting ready for the party, are you sure this is what you wanted me to wear?_

**5:32 – Yup!**

**5:32 – Don’t worry you are going to look amazing!**

**5:33 – Trust me, dad is wearing something to match.**

_5:35 – I don’t understand why we have to get ready in different houses_

**5:36 – Because I trust you to dress yourself and do your hair like we practiced last night. You taught me everything I know! Dad needs me here.**

_5:40 – Your father dresses very well_

**5:42 – He does, but he was very nervous because the style is so different. I am here for moral support**

_5:45 – Sansa are you sure?_

**5:50 – Yes mum! Robb’s going to be there in 45 minutes to take you to the party. It’s going to be fine**

_5:51 – okay darling heart xxoo_

_5:51 – why do I feel so nervous?_

_5:52 – I’m okay! I promise. xxoo_

_-~-_

Videographer transcript excerpt 1 – Keep in the final edit

 

C Stark – oh my goodness Sansa, did you do all of this?

S Stark – well, I designed it, but I had a bit of help putting it together

C Stark – look at all the flowers, it’s so beautiful, my darling girl

S Stark – Come on, through the doors.

_Music starts playing_

C Stark – Oh! Sansa! Look at, is that! Oh!

S Stark – _whispers_ mum you’ve stopped walking you need to go to him

C Stark – Oh my goodness of course – he looks so handsome!

N Stark _whispering_ – Hello my love

Celebrant – My Lords, my ladies, we stand here before the sight of the old gods and new, to celebrate the union of man and wife. One flesh, one heart, one soul. Now and for until the embers of the hearth fires of the stars burn out. Who brings this man to be wed?

R Stark – I do, Firstborn son of Ned Stark and Catelyn Tully Stark beg for the blessing of the gods on this marriage.

N Stark – I would wed this woman

C Stark – Oh!

Celebrant - Who brings this woman to be wed?

S Stark - I do, Firstborn daughter of Ned Stark and Catelyn Tully Stark beg for the blessing of the gods on this marriage.

Celebrant – Lady Catelyn, would you wed this man?

C Stark – Oh yes! I would wed this man.

Celebrant – Let it be known that Ned Start and Catelyn Tully Stark are of one flesh, one heart and one soul. Let those who would wish to tear them apart be cursed for the rest of their days.

C Stark  _sniffs_

Celebrant – Now, look upon each other and say the words.

N Stark – Under the watchful eyes of old gods and new I say these words. I am hers, and she is mine. From this day, until the end of my days.

C Stark - Under the watchful eyes of old gods and new I say these words. I am his, and he is mine. From this day, until the end of my days.

Celebrant – And now, bring her under your protection

R Stark – Here you go dad

N Stark – Thank you son

S Stark – Oh Ned, this is beautiful, where did you get it?

N Stark – The kids organized it love, let me just make sure it covers your shoulders

Celebrant – you know what to do now my boy

N Stark – With this kiss I seal my love

_Cheers and wolf whistles from the crowd_

C Stark – oh my!

N Stark – Happy Anniversary love.

C Stark – Oh Ned, I love you so much

_-~-_

Videographer transcript excerpt 5 – Cut this whole thing

 

Unknown Voice 1 – No you don’t understand, it’s all a misunderstanding! I need to see her.

Unknown Voice 2 – No _you_ don’t understand, if you don’t leave right now, you will soon have trouble seeing anything

Unknown Voice 1 – Sansa? Sansa? Sansa Please, I need to talk to you, darling. Oof, ow, what are you -? You can’t treat me like this!

Unknown Voice 2 – Actually I am paid to treat you like this

Unknown Voice 3 – Petyr?! What the - ?! What are you doing here?

Unknown Voice 1 – Sansa, sweetheart, tell this man that I am allowed to be here.

Unknown Voice 3 – I will do no such thing! The restraining order is still in effect you disgusting piece of – Please call the police once you get rid of him?

Unknown Voice 2 – Police are already on their way

Unknown Voice 1 – No, Sansa, don’t – you can’t – you don’t want to do this!

Unknown voice 3 – I don’t want to – Excuse me?! I don’t want to throw you out? What I – what I want is for a guy who won’t take no for an answer to leave me the flip alone! I want to enjoy my parents party! Do you know how many hours it took to fix the flipping table decorations after they were assembled upside down? Do you know how many times my mother changed her mind about a theme? Do you know that I put together this whole party practically by myself?! I am not going to let some fracking’ little worm ruin this night after I put my literal blood sweat and tears into getting it together! How dare you speak to me y–you - fu-fucking worm! How dare you tell me what I want! What I w-want is for you to never ever EVER speak to me, never look at me, never think about me again?! Do you understand?

(A pause)

Unknown Voice 3 - I said do you understand?!

Unknown Voice 1 – Bu- but..

(There is a loud squeal)

Unknown Voice 3 – Ow, ow fricken ow, gods-flippen-dammit how do Jon and Robb go around doing this when it hurts so fricken much.

Unknown Voice 2 – We'll put some ice on those knuckles, I can see the lights of the squad car right now. You say you have a restraining order.

Unknown Voice 3 – Y-yes, my name is Sansa Stark, and he is Petyr Baelish and he is in violation of his restraining order.

Unknown Voice 2 – Got it.

Unknown Voice 3 – Oh my gods. What did I just – I need to find some ice.

Unknown Voice 2 – Deep breath, I'll take out the rubbish and then get you some first aid.

_-~-_

Incident Report

At approximately 9:13 PM, Petyr Baelish demanded entrance to event at Winterfell Events Center approximately two hours after events started. Baelish was belligerent, demanding entry and was refused entry as the name was not on the guest list.

Baelish continued making a scene, I pressed the police call alert, and began escorting Baelish from the premises.

Client encountered Baelish on coming back from escorting elderly relatives to a taxi.

Client verbally reprimanded Baelish, and informed me that Baelish was in breach of a restraining order and asked for a police presence.

I informed the client that the police were already called.

Baelish did not dispute the restraining order and continued to address the client and said, “you don’t want to do this” in a threatening tone, bring his hands up as though to attempt to put his hands upon the client’s person.

Client verbally berated Baelish, she is the type to wave her hands in the air when upset, Baelish lunged in my grasp towards her and his face struck one of her hands forcefully. Client was not in any danger, Baelish was well secured.

I handed Baelish off to the officers and applied first aid to the client who was in a little shock over the incident.

Client soon returned to the event with an icepack.

  
Security Staff Signature – Sandor Clegane

Client Signature – Sansa Stark

Police Officer Signature (If required) – (Stamped) Sergeant Hayes

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how I did this but its the weirdest formatted thing I've written in a long while.
> 
> I had a lot of fun writing it and hope you enjoy reading it. Comments and reviews are always appreciated!


	5. The spider Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sansa needs help again, so she texts her new friend.
> 
> Challenge: A sequel or something?

_Hey hound_

_Are you a fan of weapons?_

**What kind of question is that**

_Like in a history, isn’t that a cool bit of information kind of way_

_Or medieval history?_

_Or any kind of history_

**Get to the point little bird**

_Do you know the name of that weapon that's like a stick with a chain and a spiky ball that hits people?_

**A flail?**

_A flail!_

_That’s it!_

_Thanks Hound_

**Any time**

 

*~*

 

_What’s it called if it doesn’t have the chain_

_And is just a spiky ball on the end of a stick_

**Could be a morning star?**

**Or a mace?**

_Mace, got it. Thanks!_

*~*

_Do you know more about history, like which battle happened at the Trident in 281?_

**That would be the battle of the trident**

_Of course!_

_Thanks!_

 

_*~*_

 

_How about which river was the location of the decisive Targaryen victory in the battle of the goldroad?_

**Blackwater Rush**

_Thanks so much! I am glad you know so much about history!_

**Am I doing your homework little bird?**

_I am 4 years out of High School Hound_

**Sooo,**

_No!_

_My homework is to design and construct a woman’s blazer out of sustainable textiles and include fashion sketches with at least 3 variations and fully articulated design process and justifications._

_Are you able to design and construct a woman’s blazer out of sustainable textiles and include fashion sketches with at least 3 variations and fully articulated design process and justifications._

**Fuck no**

_Then no, you can't help me with my homework_

_Also, what is the purpose of a horseman’s pick?_

**Poke holes in people and pull em down from their mounts**

_Thanks_

**What is this all about**

_Nothing_

_Do you know anything about astronomy?_

**Other than its to do with stars?**

**Nope**

_Darn_

 

*~*

 

_Hey hound_

_Onn e last uqestion_

_Wy were drangons sp good at whinnig batles,?_

**Are you pissed?**

_No, laddies dont’ get driunmk,_

**Hate to break it to you**

**But they do**

_They just get more fun andsparkely_

**Oh fuck**

_But hournd_

_You didn’t tell me about the dragons?_

**I cannot answer that question in text form its too**

**Are you cheating at pub trivia?**

_:-)_

_You’re the bst hound a gril could have_

**Please tell me someone is taking you home**

_Mm_

_Yuo_

_Yup_

_Margaey, is the des driver tonight_

_She is not letting mee go homd with this cut guty_

_He’’s so nice hound_

**Do not go home with anyone except the person you were friends with before tonight**

_Duh_

_Silly_

_I know that_

**Good**

_But Joff is so preetty_

_His hair hound_

_So pretty_

**I am not one of your girlfriends**

**I don’t need to hear about this shit**

_Joffrey is such a gentleman_

_Do you know he cut me offfrom more alcohol_

_Isnt that nice??_

**Very**

**Wait**

**Joffrey?**

**Joffrey Baratheon?**

**Stay away from him little bird**

_Goin home now_

_We came second in trivia_

_Joff wants to go clubbiung but margaeyr said no_

**Listen to your friend**

**Do not go anywhere with Joff**

_Kk_

_Don’t get your nickrs in a twist_

_Or boxers in a bunch_

**I go commando little bird**

_ajhjhhh@!_

_Blech_

**Are you going home?**

_Yup_

_Margaery is so nice to me_

**Text me when you get home**

_Okie dokey lokie_

_Hound_

_I hit my head on the car roof on the way out_

_Hurts_

**You okay**

_Yeas. M got me asprin and water_

**Good**

_Hound_

_I am so sorry_

_I feel so baad_

_I keeeep you awake_

**Its fine**

_I got vomt in my hair_

**did you make it to the bathroom**

_Yes_

_But its in the bath_

_Wat have I done_

**Its okay just turn on the bath and wash it away**

_My makeup is all smeared_

_I look so ugly_

**Not true**

**I bet you’re beautiful**

_I am awful_

_I am an awfl human bean_

**You’re my favourite human bean**

_I can’t sleep because I keep being sick_

**Just stay up with me**

_Okau hound_

**Good girl**

_How do you know so much about medi evil stuff_

**It was my major at college**

_Ididn’t know you went. Which college_

**Western U**

**But I dropped out**

_Your a gppd friend hound_

_I think I am ready to goto bed_

**Take a bucket with you just in case**

**And a big glass of water**

_K_

_Ninight_

_Hound_

_Don’t let the bed bugs bite_

_Or is it fleas_

_Cos ur a dog_

**HaHa very funny**

 

*~*

 

_Hound_

_I am sorry about last night_

_I was clearly out of my mind and I hope you accept my apologies for dragging you into my foolishness_

**Ha, its okay little bird**

**Everything is fine**

_I am pretty sure that when you drink as much as I did you are not supposed to remember anything embarassing_

_Its like a rule_

**Nope**

_But I remember everything_

_In excruciating detail_

_Also I think I am dying_

_I am pretty sure that the gods are punishing me for my sins_

_By making me feel like death is a better option to living right now_

**Ha**

_If you are going to text me it needs to be more than one word_

_The alert on my phone sounds like someone is driving a horseman’s pick into my head_

**I**

**Don’t**

**Think**

**So**

_You are a bad man_

**Yes**

**I**

**Am**

_Ugh I am turning my phone off_

_you are the worst_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your reviews! They really make my day. Your suggestions are always appreciated
> 
> I am looking to do some smut in the next chapter...  
> so, prepare yourselves


	6. Hunter and the Field (Sandor and Sansa)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An ancient power requires an old ritual to defeat it. Sansa elects to put herself forward as an aspect of the old gods.
> 
> Challenge - write an explicit romance scene that is not wholly cringeworthy...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note that this chapter is Rated R and contains graphic descriptions of physical intimacy. I don't think I necessarily need to change the whole fics rating for one one-shot. If you disagree please let me know in the comments

The God of the Void was winning the endless struggle for the realms of men. The struggle that had persisted between the five gods since their epic war which destroyed four of their other halves, the remains of them falling to the earth and creating life.

The Priests of the Old Ones had assured us that the omens suggested that the other four had not yet begun to fight in earnest. The Void God was only just beginning to make his return to strength known.

The corruption that had begun to infect the earth was present all through the North. Crops failed, game was sparse and the men who went fishing returned with empty nets.

The Clerics had announced that the Ritual of the Hunter and Field was needed to give strength back to the land which would in turn strengthen two of the gods. Giving them the edge to battle the Void God and ensure that its desire for destruction remained unsated. Winter was coming and the Gods would need to be in harmony if we were to survive.

I felt an odd sort of excitement with the news. A mixture of apprehension and eagerness unlike anything I had felt before. To be chosen as an aspect in a ritual of the old ones was a great honor, to be sure. However, it did mean giving up one’s dreams and having a life of service to one of the four. My brothers’ and sister had speculated about what precisely that meant when we were children. Our mother had said that little was known about what it felt like to be chosen as an aspect and the only person we could ask was Old May who was the last Aspect of the Field.

As children we were too much in awe and fear of Old May to even contemplate asking her directly. She was already old when we were children. Even mother and father were deferential to the odd woman who lived alone in the woods and always had a place of honor at feasts and ceremonies.

I confessed to Bran once that the idea of people looking up to me and having everyone’s respect was appealing. However, being an aspect for the old ones meant that I would never be the wife of a lord. I would never find joy in raising his heirs, managing his keep or supporting his endeavors. Everything I had been raised to desire would be lost forever.

And a darker thought. What if I _failed?_

What if I was chosen as aspect of the field and failed to bring about the blessings to the land and the Gods never received their strength?

What if it was because of me that the God of the Void swallowed up the last of the other halves’ energy and finally was able to destroy the Other Gods?

What if I was the reason why the world and beyond was nothing more than a dark nothingness, containing the finally sated God of the Void?

I believe I started to lose my breath when Robb took me out onto the battlements for air and Arya rolled her eyes before joining us. I found myself calm a little in the bracing air.

I had only really thought about it in an abstract kind of way. I didn’t really think that I would actually have to contemplate choosing.

“So don’t offer,” Arya said, “I’d rather _die_ than offer myself.”

Robb looked at me with a measuring glance. We both knew that I would offer. He was the heir and was not expected (or desired) to be an aspect, which left me. Arya was entirely unsuitable, Bran’s injury rendered him incapable and Rickon was too young.

It was me, or the Starks wouldn’t be represented.

Family Duty and Honor. I couldn’t allow myself to deny the offer.

Because Winter Was Coming.

“It is okay, _I_ am okay” I said, “I’ll offer. When the time comes.”

\---~---

I’d left my slippers with my mother at the gate to the ritual grounds as she wished me farewell with wet eyes and followed the path of torches around a copse of trees to the hidden bonfire where the initial ritual would take place.

Women were already congregating in front of the priestess of the old one choosing sheaths of wheat and ribbons to fashion their adornments. My own, crafted over many hours, hung limply from my hand as I fought the urge to twist the delicate weaving and ruin my efforts.

I didn’t recognize many of the women. Some, were from the village, though several were clearly from the South, here because they were curious about the ritual and were sent North to escape war. Or some, had perhaps been called. I remember hearing that the magic in the evening called to something deep inside a woman.

 _I_ was only filled with trepidation. These women… I struggled a little to gather my thoughts as I contemplated some who giggled behind their hands. To be chosen was an honor, and some of these women acted like it was a _jape_.

I felt ill. What if one of them were chosen? The ritual would surely fail and the Old God of the Void would swallow us up.

The thought had me stiffen my spine. I decided to be an example for the others. A quick glance around determined that I was the only highborn lady here. None of the others had dared, I supposed.

“Lady Sansa,” the priestess greeted me, “You made this?”

She gestured at the circlet in my hands.

I bowed with respect to the Old Gods, fingers clasped as I made a circle with my hands.

“Yes Revered One,” I replied and she copied the gesture, “I thought it best to spend some time on it. I wish the Old Gods to know that I am wholly committed to this.”

The Revered One smiled and placed it onto my unbound hair.

“You do them Honor,” she told me before calling to the assembled women, “The ritual will commence as soon as the sun has set.”

The women were then a flurry of green dresses as they took in the sky and worked to add the final touches to their own adornments. There were hair pieces, wristlets and belts. Some had just stuck the odd piece of wheat in their braids, giving them an alluring wildness.

I stared into the flames as the priestesses began lighting the sheaths of herbs, their perfumed scent filling the air and bringing a calm, a peace and a sense of anticipation.

I was mesmerized by the flames, and tore my gaze away to look at my body. The flames were reflected in the slight shine to the silken threads of my dress. I had spent an age embroidering silk grasses in a silk the exact same shade as the cotton. They glowed orange in the light of the fire.

A beat filled the air and I felt the urge to dance. The others around me called and laughed in rich tones adding to the music I was certain only I could hear.

And then I saw it. A luminous figure in green. I could not see her face, for she was most certainly a woman. She had the wide hips and full belly of a mother who’d nurtured many children. Heavy breasts swelled on her chest and thick thighs and arms spoke of a person who lived in bountiful times.

She was beautiful. This aspect of the field.

She walked towards me at a steady pace. And lifted her hand to my cheek.

“ _Perfect_ ,” The contented purr echoed through my mind as she entered my body and merged with my soul.

\---~---

I felt light, like I could drift away on a moonbeam and yet perfectly secure in how grounded I was. And I felt excited. I was not expecting to feel like myself. I had expected to feel other, perhaps watching my body be directed by someone else. But I felt like me, only _more_.

And I needed to find him.

The hunter.

 _My_ hunter.

I meandered away from the bonfire, totally heedless of the stares of the others gathered and skipped lightly through the field and into the trees surrounding. My bare feet pressed the ground and I had never felt so connected to the world around me.

I could feel the circle of life. The rotting log providing nutrients to the mushrooms that grew on its damp fibrous leavings. The night lilies, opening their petals in silent invitation to the insects that both received and gave to the plants.

This was where I was meant to be.

I had no idea where the males were congregating for their side of the ritual and wondered if I should try and find the one chosen. _No, love_ , came a comforting presence, _he is the hunter, let him come to us._

And so I continued to meander around the forest, before I came to a beautiful glade filled with moon lilies and a small herd of deer which looked up suddenly and bounded out and into the forest.

I looked across the glade at a man with glowing red eyes, his bow drawn and following one of the deer. It rushed past me and I saw the moment he noticed my presence.

“ _Earth_ ,” the sound rumbled out of his mouth as he lowered his bow.

“ _Flame,_ ” I purred in the combined voice of the green god who joined me.

 _They are our hunter?_ I asked myself as they drank in my form, I idly wondered if my eyes glowed green.

 _Yes,_ came the somewhat amused reply of my divine companion.

 _Well, what do you think,_ I said as I contemplated my words and felt the growing anticipation from my passenger, _if we gave them something to hunt?_

 _Perfect,_ came the reply _._

I lifted my hand slowly, letting it travel up the bodice of my dress before I traced my lips. His sharp eyes followed my every movement.

“ _Hunter,”_ we beckoned.

“ _Field_ ,” they replied.

“ _You’d better,”_ we paused, “ _catch me!”_

And with that, I whirled around, picked up my skirts and ran. Hair streaming and laughter filling the air behind me as I heard a roar of anticipation from the hunter I’d left behind and felt the anticipation grow in a warm knot in my belly.

 

\---~---

Sandor couldn’t explain what he was doing standing in front of a fire in the middle of a field in the not-quite-frozen North.

That is to say that he knew the sequence of events that drew him here. The war in the South, being ordered to accompany his patron’s family to the safety in the North, hearing the southroners remark condescendingly on _charming northern traditions_ without noticing the offence given to the people who were loyal to the Warden of the North.

He was really only curious about the state of the tavern in town when he overheard men talk of the state of the fields and how the hunt would make it better. A hunt sounded good and he thought it odd when he arrived at a secluded field to find a bunch of men drinking around a bonfire.

He’d stayed away from the fire but accepted a drink from the priest who’d apparently blessed the flames with some kind of scented branch.

“You’ve already been caressed by the flame,” the old man murmured as he passed over the drink.

“The fuck you say?” Sandor growled at the old man and frowned as the man ignored his cursing.

“You look strong enough to hunt,” the old man continued, “Water and wind likely won’t be drawn to you, but if its fire here to bless us,” he paused, “I wonder what it’ll make of you.”

Sandor gripped the hilt of his sword with one hand and the cup with the other before pulling a face when the priest absently turned and wandered away. He turned away from the bonfire and wandered away to the tree line as he sipped what seemed to be spiced mead from the cup.

He downed the drink, realizing that it was likely the only alcohol available before the hunt and turned to get some more.

“Why are you here, southroner?” A man’s voice spoke, almost directly to the air.

“Heard there was a hunt,” he replied, squinting into the dark of the forest, “Didn’t realize it would just be standing around in a field?”

“Why do you not join them?” The voice replied.

“If I wanted to stand around with some self-important cunts talking about their hunting skills I woulda stayed in the capital with the rest of the nobility?”

“Do you always do what you want?”

“As much as a man can, I suppose,” Sandor frowned and thought for a bit, he wasn’t usually this candid, “When I’m not under the orders of others.”

“And what do you want to do now?”

“I want to hunt something down.”

“Tell me Sandor, do you prefer the hunt or kill?”

“The kill is the prize for the hunt, I suppose,” Sandor said, frowning into the darkness, “Why don’t you come out of there?”

“One more question, what do you want to do to the one that did that to your face?”

“My fa-” Sandor growled, “The fuck you know about this?”

“You have a lot of anger, anger is good, it’s motivating, can make you feel the power to get what you want. You don’t hide from it, do you hide from your other emotions?”

“Fuck off,” Sandor bared his teeth

“Ah, you do. Can’t have everything I want, I suppose,” A red, flaming figure stepped from around a tree, “But I can help you get everything you want.”

Sandor stepped back, dropped his cup and fumbled to grip his sword as the figure continued its approach.

“Let’s go hunting, shall we?”

Sandor felt uncomfortably warm as the figure stepped up close and embraced him before melting into his body. _What do you feel like doing?_ A voice asked.

Sandor thought, before pulling his mangled face into a grin.

 _Let’s go hunting_ , he thought back to the voice and strode over to the bonfire barely noticing as the other men scrambled to get out of his way. He picked up the quiver and bow that were lying next to the flames of the fire that no longer gave him the visceral response of fear that he tried so hard to hide.

He tested the draw and strode towards the forest. Once far enough away from the festivities he stopped and looked around. Breathing deep he closed his eyes and listed to the sounds of the night creatures. Small beasts ran through the undergrowth, rustling leaves told the story of birds roosting but Sandor wanted larger prey.

Opening his eyes, he studied the area looking for the signs of movement through the forest. Under his sharp gaze he noticed the broken twigs, the fur caught in a bramble, the prints marked in the dirt. Following the game trail on cautious step, Sandor avoided making any noise as he approached a clearing where a herd of deer were enjoying the grass and serenity.

Carefully drawing an arrow he sighted his target. He drew a breath in through his nose and released it slowly, his heart beating steadily in his chest.

A noise and the deer were scattering. He tracked one ready to loose his arrow when he saw her and instantly lowered his bow and releasing the tension in the string.

She stood in the moonlight, letting it wash over her creamy skin. Her hair was unbound and spilling about her shoulders and her eyes glowed with a deep green.

The presence within him seemed to perk up.

“Earth,” he rumbled out the word.

“Flame,” she replied huskily.

Sandor felt his breaches tighten. _Who is she,_ he asked the voice in his head.

 _She is wisdom and life and growth and instincts_ , came the reply.

 _I want her_ , Sandor said as he watched her run her tongue over her lips. His predatory gaze tracked her hands as the skimmed her belly, ghosting over her curves before lightly caressing the sweet swell of her breast and then her lips. Each gentle movement beckoned to him, beguiled him, sought to steal his breath.

His breaches tightened further.

“Hunter,” she called.

“Field,” he felt himself reply. The voice within becoming more excited as it recognized the call. _Get ready_ , it said in anticipation.

 _For what?_ Sandor asked as he watched her stretch languidly to the sky.

“You’d better,” she paused as the voice answered his question, _for the best game you will ever hunt_.

“-catch me!” And she ran, her bright red hair streaming behind her.

Sandor roared in frustration and anticipation as he stripped off the quiver and jacket and dropped the bow. This was not a hunt he wished to win with stealth.

He raced through the undergrowth keen gaze picking up on her trail easily – she was not trying to hide it.

He growled again as he leapt over a log.

He wanted her to know that he was coming for her.

\---~---

I ran heedless of the tracks that I was leaving the one who hunted me. Twigs snagged my skirts and my feet left clear imprints on the dirt. I scrambled over logs and ducked branches as I led the fire man on a chase that was making me restless and fiercely hungry for a meal that I’d not yet tasted.

A growl behind me gave me a kick of adrenaline as I desperately picked up my pace. It was far closer than I had hoped. I felt as though I never wanted the chase to end.

Alas, a lady’s pursuits were stationary ones. And I had not had the chance to build up my wind. I resigned myself to the fact that I would not be able to give the hunter the challenge that I wished. I glanced over my shoulder and let out a little shriek of surprise at how close he was.

I picked up my pace again, but I could hear his heavy breaths as he closed the distance between us.

I felt an arm reach around my waist and struggled to escape his hold. The momentum pulled him forward and he grabbed me with both hands. He twisted us in the air before we landed heavily on the dirt. Branches obscured the sky and I turned in his arms to look at the face of my Hunter.

He was not attractive. I could see that he might’ve been once, but heavy scarring had marked half of his face, pulling down his right eye into a droop and stealing some of his hair and much of his ear.

I traced his brow with a finger.

“Caught me,” I said between breaths, smiling down at him and looking into his blazing eyes. I could see now that the red was just the iris. It flickered warmly and I felt my smile grow wider.

“And what a prize you are,” he murmured as his eyes swept my face and his arms tightened suddenly.

 _What does he want,_ I asked my divine passenger, _the flame I mean?_  
_The flame is impulsivity and destruction and chaos and hedonism among other things,_ came the reply, _ultimately the flame wants Freedom. I am glad he called to flame instead of water. Flame does not seek perfection and control. Only to embrace that which is here and now._

I _am here, now,_ I thought to myself and received the echo of a chuckle from the being within me.

“I want to see you,” the hunter said suddenly and in a flash we were standing and I was cradled in his arms and he was walking steadily through the trail of debris back to the glade where we first laid eyes upon one another.

He set me gently down on the grass and stood back, his eyes tracking over my exposed skin. The moonlight had also made him easier to see. He reached up and ran his finger along my collar bone. He swept over my neck and back, stepping closer as he reached the ties at the front of my clothing that held everything together.

He stared deeply into my eyes and I nodded as I brought my hands up to help loosen the strings. Eventually it was loosened enough for him to tug it and it slipped to the ground. His breath shuddered as he took in the sight of me clad only in a silk shift.

I could feel the cool breeze sweep through the glade and shivered slightly as he brought his hand to my waist. I stepped forward and rested a hand against his chest. I could feel his heart beating furiously under my palm. I raised it to loosen the ties at his collar and then tugged his shirt free from his breeches.

He helped me pull his shirt off and I marveled at the musculature that adorned his chest and arms. I had never fancied myself attracted to a large man. Up until then, I had preferred the more svelte physiques of fencers – men who spent more of their time ruling than on the battlefield. My hunter was built for power and might.

My divine passenger and I found him exquisite, and we made our approval clear with our hands and lips as we traced his battle scars and the sinew that formed the foundation for his strength.

I let my hand slip lower to follow the trail of coarse hair to the laces that held his breeches closed while I pressed kisses into his collarbone. Taking in the heady earthly scent of him with every breath.

He caught my wrist with a calloused hand before I could explore any lower than his waistband.

“Not yet,” he growled, and pushed me back a step.

He was breathing heavily and was clenching his fists repeatedly, he seemed to be trying to decide what to do. So I made the decision for him.

I reached forward and took one of his hands in both of mine. I brought it up to linger over my breast until moving on towards the collar of my shift. I slid his hand under one side and shifted the fabric over one of my shoulders.

The garment was easy to remove and he seemed to have made his decision as he brought his other hand to my neck. His fingers scorched a trail down across the skin of my shoulder to push the fabric off the other shoulder.

My shift slipped fluidly down my body before pooling on the ground at my feet.

He swallowed and I watched his gaze trace over my body as I bared all for him. I felt so attuned to him and my companion breathed words of reassurance.

 _Follow your instincts, my darling,_ it crooned, _You can do no wrong here_.

I held out my hand to him again and waited for him to come to me.

\---~---

He kicked my discarded clothing into a heap and bade me lay down as he began to worship me with hands and lips and tongue.

My fierce hunter was not shy in with his touches and he took delight in making me drunk with the onslaught of his ardor.

I allowed myself to become lost in sensation. His lips nibbling down my neck as he weighed the mounds of my breast in a calloused hand. And when his fingers plucked and rubbed at my nipples I felt shocks spark straight to my core.

I was shameless in my appreciation for his efforts and let him know with whimpers and cries and groans in recognition of his expert handling of me.

His lips trailed lower and he laved a nipple with his tongue, drawing the tight buds into his mouth he sucked on them until the swelled further. I arched my back into his mouth and brought my hands to the back of this head, running my fingers through his hair before pulling his head back up to level with mine.

The light brush of our lips soon deepened and I opened my mouth when his tongue demanded entrance. He massaged my tongue with his and I drew my arms around him, trying to bring him closer while he lay on the ground beside me. He rested on his forearm and brought his chest closer to mine while he ran his free hand up and down my body. Each time his skin clipped my sensitive nipples I let out a little cry and it took me a moment to realize that he was doing it on purpose.

I clenched my thighs in a vain hope of alleviating the ache that was building there.

My hunter’s hand ghosted down over my belly and he watched my face as a finger slipped between the folds of my womanhood.

I gasped at the spark of sensation as he circled a clever, cunning little spot that sent lingering shocks of pleasure through my very being. My eyes flew open as he drew away and ran his finger along the slit hidden by damp curls.

His face was graced by a slight smirk and his lips were pulled up on his non scarred side.

“So wet for me,” he murmured and he teased around that spot which had brought me such delight before but was now barely registering any sensation.

I slapped his chest halfheartedly with a frown.

“Go back,” I whimpered and he chuckled a little, eyes intense on mine as he pressed his fingers to the target.

My eyelids fluttered closed and I held is forearm in my hand. I was dimly aware of the tension and release of the muscles there as he worked me into a shuddering mess of moans and sighs and gasps.

I could feel something building and I clutched his arm and furrowed my brow as the feeling built and built until I felt an exquisite release surge through me. His fingers did not stop until I recovered from my boneless repose and tugged his palm away from the sensitivity.

He looked an odd mixture of satisfied and wanting as he took in my form. Legs askew and chest heaving, I couldn’t wait for what came next.

\---~---

Sandor had never seen the sight of a woman chasing her peak and was painfully hard at the divine being below him. Her quivering limbs and the way his finger slid easily through her folds to find the bud that gave her pleasure had left him pressed uncomfortably against the ties holding his pants closed.

At length the woman brought her hand up and drew him down to give him a languid kiss which gradually grew more and more heated. She ran her hands down his chest, pausing to caress at the scars that marred his body as her tongue caressed his.

He was holding himself over her now and nearly lost his balance as her fingers deftly reached his cock and sought its release. He drew away from her lips and kissed down her neck and chest until he reached her nipples where he licked them and blew air over them watching in fascination as they puckered and stiffened in the cool night air.

The movement pulled his groin away from her questing fingers and he heard her groan in frustration as he sat back on his haunches between her spread thighs.

He took in her wild hair, hooded eyes and heavy breathing as she lay back. Her hands now, too far away to bring pleasure to his body sought to bring pleasure to her own.

The fact that she intently stared at him as her eyebrows drew together caused Sandor to shift and try and relieve some of the pressure. He hissed in surprise as her hands that had been caressing her breasts separated. One heading to the juncture of her thighs and one twisted and pulled at a nipple as she groaned and closed her eyes.

He leaned forward and pulled her hands away. Her eyes flew open and she beseeched him, trying to lift herself closer, lips puckered in need for a kiss.

He leant back again onto his haunches and went to work on the laces as he watched her.

“Please,” she pleaded, “I need more.”

Finally freeing himself he tugged his breeches lower and fisted his cock in one hand. Her eyes widened as she took him in.

He was harder than he’d ever been in his life and he collapsed forward onto his palms one on either side of her chest and he lent down to capture her lips with his as she widened her legs to allow him closer.

His cock bobbed with his heartbeat and he felt the tip brush the damp curls that shielded her cunt. He pushed forward with his hips a little allowing the head to run between her folds and become coated in her arousal.

He pulled away from the kiss, leaned down on one forearm and used his other hand to clasp one creamy thigh and pull it over his hip. He then took himself in his hand and rubbed the head of his cock against her pearl with more insistence than before.

Sandor was driven nearly wild by the little thrusts of her pelvis against him as he listened to her chant _please_ over and over again.

He took his hand and turned her face to look at him.

“You ready?” he asked.

“Gods _yes_ ,” she replied.

“I want you to look at me as I take you,” he said and she nodded fervently.

“Yes, _yes_ ,” she cried as he moved his hand to grasp his cock and helped it find the entrance to her cunt and he thrust in to her warmth as he watched her eyes widen at his intrusion.

It took everything in him not to surge forward and plunge wholly into her. Instead he grit his teeth and pressed forward with shallow thrusts as he breached her before finally managing to finally sheath himself fully inside of her.

He cringed slightly as she shifted beneath him.

“So full,” she breathed and his cock twitched as he felt her movements. At length she relaxed and he began to move more earnestly.

His eyes never moved from her face and he watched her eyes widen with wonder and then flutter closed as her mouth form a small ‘o’.

He leant down further onto his forearms and thrust forward as deeply as he could, grinding when he sheathed himself to the hilt and then pulled back nearly entirely as he thrust forward again.

He lost control as she gave a loud moan and he lost the rhythm of his movements, plunging deeply into her as the feeling in the base of his spine grew.

He snaked one arm around her waist and pulled her closer. He pressed his face into the place where her neck met her shoulder as her clenching muscles inflamed him further.

He thrust more and more feverishly before he felt the wave of pleasure break over him and sought to burrow as deeply as possible inside her. Each wave spilling his seed into her tender flesh as his cock twitched and he roared his completion into her neck.

He was dimly aware of her arms encircling him as he ground his hips into hers and her thighs embraced him as they pulled him closer.

Sandor was no green boy anymore. Ready to spill at the drop of a hat and be ready again in half a minute. So he nuzzled her neck with his non scarred face, before rolling off of her and slipping free of her body.

They lay on her discarded shift and his discarded shirt. He pulled her to rest against him as he pulled her dress over them. Its voluminous skirt providing more than enough fabric to cover them.

As he closed his eyes against the light of the moon. He heard the other voice.

 _Your heart tells you what it needs,_ it said, _You will always know what it wants. Strive to reach it and you will live free. Live in the moment – fight when you need to spill blood, travel when you need something new, have no regrets over where you give your loyalties. Embrace freedom, for you will always carry an echo of me within you._

\---~---

I awoke to hands coming through my hair.

My hunter was pulling twigs and leaves from the tendrils of my hair. My circlet lay discarded on the ground and my thighs were sticky and sore. I felt a sudden, deep affection for this hunter who had completed the ritual with me.

 _Will he stay with me?_ I asked my divine companion.

_I cannot say. He will be changed from this experience and will do what he likes._

I felt a keen loss at the statement.

 _But so will you child,_ the voice continued, _My echo will remain with you. We tend to be too serene and tied to the reality of things for flame to handle us all the time. Flame is an agent of change, and will feel too confined by our insistence on tradition. But that does not mean that he won’t return. Flame’s loyalties run deep and the passion that drives him to fight also drives his commitment to relationships._

I contemplated this as my hunter brushed my hair over my shoulder and ducked his head down to retrieve a kiss.

_His nature has been fundamentally changed. As has yours. Embrace your new place in the tapestry of life and do not doubt your instincts. For the natural order is a thing of beauty._

I took that to heart and did what my instincts were telling me would lead to a pleasurable ending.

I pushed my hunter over and noticed the surprise on his face as he rolled onto his back. Moving quickly I straddled his hips and leant forward to capture his lips as I pressed my core against his rapidly hardening manhood.

I sat up and watched him watch my hands as they trailed down his chest, up my thighs and belly to cup my breasts. I threw my head back as I flicked my thumbs over my nipples and sensation stole over me.

I looked back down as his hands drew back and forth over my thighs. His manhood hard and ready between them.

I knelt up and his hands held me securely as I reached between us to grasp his length and angle it at my entrance.

Very slowly I sunk down on top of him and watched as his eyes rolled up in his head.

I didn’t move as I became accustomed to his presence. I felt him lift me ever so slightly as he clasped my waist between his hands and I began to rock back on forth. I enjoyed the intimacy of his gaze as he watched me take my pleasure from him.

After some time he began to thrust up to meet me. He reached up to take one of my hands which been rubbing and squeezing my breast and brought it down to my womanhood. I had a sudden understanding of what he what he wanted and I braced myself with my free hand against his chest and rubbed at the cunning little spot hidden amongst my curls.

My head fell forward at the pleasure that spiked through me and I began to rock more and more urgently against him. My whimpers and cries merged with the grunts and growls that came from him as I chased to alleviate the tension that was building inside of me.

It came upon me suddenly. One minute I was grinding on top of him and the next my back was arching and I felt muscles clench around him. My body tensed with a delicious shuddering and I fell forward on his chest, crying out as he tightened his grip on my hips and took possession of my body with frenzied thrusts. Soon he was roaring and I could feel his member twitch with his release as I fell asleep with deep exhaustion on his chest.

\---~---

Dawn broke and my divine passenger had indeed left me with an echo of its presence.

My hunter told her that his name was Sandor Clegane, and I responded with my own name. I explained the purpose of the ritual to the southron warrior as he helped me with the ties of my dress. The front of his breeches was marked with the evidence of our coupling and I helped him arrange his shirt to cover the stain.

I explained that he would likely feel changed by his touch with divinity and he grunted that the being had already told him that and that ‘he’d live’ with it. I was unsure what that meant.

He escorted me back to the ritual grounds and I smiled at him when he helped me over the logs that hindered our movements. On impulse I tucked my arm around his waist as we entered the field and we walked beside each other to where the priests and priestesses were waiting for us in front of two tents.

I bowed with respect to the Old Gods as we approached and they smiled. Drawing me into one tent and Sandor into the other.

I can only assume that he received the same treatment as me. A warm bath to soothe the muscles and wash away the grime and evidence of our evening together, balms to soothe the scrapes that were inevitable after a bare foot run through the forest and oils to anoint the skin as well as provide another function that I was not privy to. I leaned back against the bath and smiled at the roof of the tent.

The gods would have the strength to beat back the void and, if the ritual was completed successfully, new life would come to the North and help us prepare for Winter.

I didn’t cry when I emerged from the tent and the priests told me that Sandor had already. I knew that Sandor would leave.

And I knew in my heart that he would be back.

\---~---

As expected, my betrothal fell through and my father told me with the wariness of someone expecting to deal with an emotional woman. I accepted it as it was and left to spend some time in the Godswood.

A few months later and the successful ritual was confirmed when I felt the quickening of new life. I took a place of honor with Old May as the Northerners celebrated a successful Ritual of the Field.

I was inordinately pleased that my hunter’s seed had found purchase within me.

I was glad to see the anglers return with full nets, and the hunters find game easily.

I took to spending more time in the glade where I had spent that night. Arya and Robb often escorted me and practiced combat with one another while I told stories to the life that grew under my heart.

At the beginning of my sixth month, Sandor returned and met me again with awe of the evidence that he had sired life and he reverently placed his hand on the swell of my belly.

Later I led him back to the glade where he earnestly worshipped my body again.

He stayed until his son was a year old and I moved into the secluded cottage with Old May.

She understood me better than anyone else, and it did not take long before he longed for other things.

My hunter came back often and stayed until even Aiden’s energy could not combat the serenity of Old May and I. He would then head South or North or across the sea to fight in some tourney or war.

And when he came back, he returned with stories and his eyes would shine with pride as he sparred with his son.

And when our Aiden’s energy finally ran out my hunter would carry the boy to bed before he turned his attention back to me.

Then he would take me in his arms to love me as fiercely as he did on our first night together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for persevering through this - I kind of feel like its the most rich world that I've written, has the most scope for more stories so to speak. It took a very long time to get this story to a point that I was somewhat happy with. Constructive criticism is, as always, a blessing, and, I confess, I feel some trepidation in posting this.
> 
> ugh.


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